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Musk claims this is “in support of the people of Venezuela.”
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Venezuela is experiencing unprecedented days in its history, with the capture of Maduro by the United States.
The satellite services company Starlink, owned by Elon Musk, announced on January 4 the opening of its broadband internet signal for free throughout the entire territory of Venezuela.
This measure, which will last until February 3, seeks to guarantee the connectivity of citizens after the recent geopolitical events that have altered the institutional order of the country and generated fluctuations in the financial market.
Through his account on the social network X, Musk confirmed the availability of the service, stating that the action is carried out «in support of the people of Venezuela.»
To access the service, Venezuelan users who already own Starlink equipment will see the free service automatically applied to their accounts. This, even allowing the reactivation of antennas that were paused due to lack of payment.
This implies that the company exempts the monthly subscription cost until February, making it possible for citizens maintain connectivity to access information and carry out operations online during the current crisis that has involved electrical blackouts in some areas.
This movement occurs at a critical moment. The United States government, under the administration of Donald Trump, captured Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro and was taken to New York. This was during a military operation in Caracas in the early hours of January 3.
Impact on the digital asset market
The political instability in Venezuela has had an immediate reflection on the local economy. An example is the USDT/VES pair, which experienced extreme volatility spikes during the US trade.
NoticiasVE reported that the exchange rate of the USDT stablecoin went from 572.15 VES to reach highs of up to 941 bolivars during the early hours of January 3.
In this scenario, internet access is essential for users to manage their savings in bitcoin (BTC) and other digital currencies such as USDT. Assets that are usually used in that nation as a safeguard mechanism against the devaluation of the bolivar.