Bridging the digital divide: Taking steps toward equal opportunity

The mass expansion of access to and use of sovereign investment instruments as a mechanism for monetary stability in sanctioned countries.

According to OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control), there are at least a dozen countries bearing the brunt of the Unilateral Coercive Measures (UCM) applied by the U.S., among them: Russia, Iran, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and others. Many of the UCMs aim to reduce export revenues or the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into these nations, generating negative effects on their local economies, manifested specifically in inflation and the devaluation of their currencies, thus impacting the quality of life of the population by reducing their citizens' purchasing power for goods and services.

In relation to the above, Venezuela and Iran recorded annual inflation rates of 140% and 42%, respectively, at the close of 2025, while the Venezuelan currency lost 82.7% of its value against the dollar, and the Iranian Rial depreciated by 44.2%. The natural response of economic agents living in these countries is to seek cover in less volatile currencies, usually those that make up the IMF currency basket, among them the U.S. dollar, whose supply is insufficient to meet domestic demand in the aforementioned nations, forcing their central banks to depreciate their currency, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the emergence of a black market for foreign exchange.

However, the states subject to UCMs have fiscal policy tools at their disposal, such as the use of Public Credit that enables them to issue indexed debt instruments, with the aim of helping to reduce demand for foreign exchange by offering the general public exchange-rate hedging options other than the dollar. Now, one proposal to enhance the impact of this type of strategy is the widespread use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in sanctioned countries, where there is significant access to internet-connected electronic devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.). For example, in Venezuela 70% of the population owns smartphones, while in Iran and Russia the figures stand at 74.4% and 76.1%, respectively.

In view of the need for monetary stability and the advantage afforded by the widespread use of smartphones, it is proposed that sanctioned countries work on developing an app that would allow their citizens to invest in indexed Public Debt Securities from the comfort of their smartphones. Such an action would allow local investors to protect themselves against devaluation while simultaneously earning real returns from the purchase of the securities. Implementing this idea would also generate positive effects on monetary indicators, given that the issuance of indexed securities absorbs local currency, thereby reducing pressure on demand for foreign exchange. Additionally, the funds raised can be directed toward the granting of loans to finance investment projects (of demonstrable feasibility and profitability) that could subsequently provide resources to state issuers to service the debt initially incurred as a result of the aforementioned issuances.

In short, putting this idea into practice, by means of an app that brings millions of people into the purchase of these securities, helps to reactivate the necessary savings-investment cycle as a source of internal financing for local economic development plans.

At a stage beyond the proposal set out above, it is proposed that the bloc formed by the BRICS countries, through the creation of its own Exchange and using smart contracts, allow citizens of sanctioned countries to invest in asset baskets of said bloc, on the understanding that transactions on a blockchain are inalienable and cannot be stopped by bodies such as OFAC.