Venezuelans have taken to Bitcoin for liberation as the country struggles with runaway inflation.
Corruption, a collapsing oil industry, and ill-conceived socialist policies have plunged the country into hyperinflation.
The IMF estimates that Venezuela's inflation stands at around 1.3 million percent for 2018, levels of inflation not seen since the Zimbabwean dollar.
The insane levels of inflation mean that prices increase over twenty-fold in a single day.
Nothing has made a noticeable difference in reversing the country's runaway inflation.
To combat the rapidly deteriorating Bolivar, Venezuelans have taken to Bitcoin.
Trading volume on LocalBitcoins, a website for facilitating peer-to-peer BTC trades, has exploded.
In 2018, the weekly trade volume for Bitcoin rose from 170 to 2000 BTC, roughly $8 million a week at current prices.
For comparison, CNN reported in March that the monthly minimum wage in Venezuela is just over $6. At that rate, a single week of Bitcoin trades represents monthly wages for 1.3 million Venezuelans.
As Bitcoin adoption soars in the country, the innovation will make it harder for Maduro to extract wealth from his citizens through irresponsible fiscal policy.
Venezuelans Trade Bolivars for Bitcoin Amidst Runaway Inflation
Publicado en Dec 29, 2018
by Cryptoslate | Publicado en Coinage
Coinage
Mencionado en este artÃculo
Noticias recientes
Ver todo
Blockchain Bites: Bitcoin's Run, Uniswap's Hemorrhaging Value, Anchorage's Banking Bid
Bitcoin is nearing all-time highs in price and market cap last set three years ago.
Japan's megabanks to lead experiment with digital yen
We have, in order, Cheese Bank with a $3.3 million theft, Akropolis with its $2 million loss, Value DeFi with a whopping $6 million exploit and finally Origin Protocol's loss of $7 million.
Number of new Bitcoin addresses spikes amid growing FOMO
Japan's three largest banks, as part of a group of 30 private sector actors, are set to collaborate on an experiment with a digital yen.
Not just Wall Street: Quant trader explains why Bitcoin price is going up
Sam Trabucco, a quantitative trader at Alameda Research, believes four general factors are pushing up the price of Bitcoin.