Venezuelans Trade Bolivars for Bitcoin Amidst Runaway Inflation

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.