Bitcoin 2022 suspends participation of crypto company associated with the Cuban regime

Cryptocurrency activist Martha Bueno praised the organizers of the Bitcoin 2022 conference on March 22 for suspending the participation of Erich García Cruz, whose QvaPay platform has been described as a tool of the Cuban regime.

“QvaPay has been officially removed from the #Bitcoin2022 agenda. No matter the reasons why, the important thing is the Cuban regime won’t be in Miami showcasing their platform to rob Cubans,” she tweeted. 

QvaPay has been officially removed from the #Bitcoin2022 agenda.

No matter the reasons why, the important thing is the Cuban regime won’t be in Miami showcasing their platform to rob Cubans.

I am grateful to every one of you who helped get this issue noticed. #FreeCuba

— Martha Bueno (@BuenoForMiami) March 22, 2022

Erich García Cruz, a Cuban entrepreneur and YouTuber specializing in technology, claimed that the U.S. embargo is the main obstacle to the country's development.

In a video posted on social media, García Cruz acknowledges that he worked as "sub-officer of Informatics and Ciphers" at the Ministry of the Interior for several years. During that time, he was trained in cybersecurity and encryption of intelligence messages, although he did not give more details "because it is a state secret."

His ventures include the e-commerce website Bachecubano and BitRemesas. Currently, García Cruz is promoting himself as CEO of the payment gateway QvaPay, which "offers, thanks to the internal blockchain and the use of cryptocurrencies, the possibility of receiving payments, charging for services, paying for products and trading internationally, even from Cuba."

The Bitcoin 2022 conference will gather personalities, entrepreneurs, and cryptocurrency enthusiasts in Miami between April 6 and 9. However, the conference’s invitation to the Cuban generated controversy among enthusiasts, with Martha Bueno as one of its main critics.

"Every Cuban who lives there or keeps family on the island understands that a person on his own cannot have a business, much less of this style. This is part of the government... Making space for this gentleman here, I cannot understand. I honestly believe that those who organize this conference have no idea who he is", Bueno told ADN Cuba.

"Governments are always trying to find a way to be able to win, and in this case of QvaPay they are taking the currency that has more value, and handing over something of much less value. And it's not that they're giving you cash, they're giving you a card that has a value mounted on top of it," she explained.

In September 2021, Resolution 215/2021 of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) was implemented, regulating the use of cryptoassets for commercial transactions in and from the island. In addition, the resolution allows the "granting of licenses associated with financial, exchange and collection or payment operations", reported the state press.