At this point it really seems like the "Venezuela is why bitcoin matters" story is a useful emergent PR campaign narrative for the cryptocurrency world to justify their existence.
It's not entirely true, but also it's not entirely false either. Crypto still serves the needs of the under/unbanked, probably not as much as it could but certainly in meaningful and measurable ways, as much as detractors like to argue otherwise.
Yes, Venezuelans want to eat, and yes, Venezuelans would probably convert any crypto into cash ASAP. But also due to the sanctions (first internal from the ill-fated currency exchange control schemes of the Chavez regime, then from the rest of the world) holding onto any amount of currency digitally is very risky- and these are risks that brokers pass down to the common populace in the form of outrageous fees, either explicit or as awful exchange rates. Crypto helps to leverage against that somewhat, and LocalBitcoins' traffic remains considerable [0] to this day. Unfortunately many Venezuelans now conflate shitcoins (e.g. Petro, BCash) with real crypto, and I can't exactly blame them, given how badly the Petro "experiment" ended up like (which, frankly, was just another attempt from the regime to launder money without needing to rely on foreign currency).
If you ask someone if they accept USD they will invariably say yes these days, but cash only. If you want to send or receive hard money digitally, you'll need to have some "contact" to create or manage an US bank account in your stead, and just make do with the constant risk of that money just disappearing one day for whatever reason. And needless to say, holding onto large amounts of cash isn't exactly safe either, as you run the risk of getting robbed by "regular" criminals or ending up part of a police raid after someone snitches on you.
Disclaimer: I'm Venezuelan, and I'd think I know more about our particular situation than some clout-chasing gringo influencer. ;) [1]
[1] I apologize if me derisively dismissing that person's arguments (or if the usage of "gringo" comes off as too offensive- it is mildly derogatory, but it's also playful) weakens my own, but I'm simply sick and tired of people that either have no skin in the game or with interests that lie elsewhere, and raise similar points against crypto when they're just patently untrue.
At this point it really seems like the "Venezuela is why bitcoin matters" story is a useful emergent PR campaign narrative for the cryptocurrency world to justify their existence.