Free Falling Bolivar Increases Demand for Bitcoin in Venezuela.
As Venezuela's fiat -- bolivar continues to collapse, the citizens are looking for alternative options including Bitcoin to protect their earnings from turning worthless. Bitcoin, the popular digital currency had a few great weeks on the market as its price surged from mid $600s to over $700. The increase attributed to increasing demand from the Chinese market saw an abrupt end after unconfirmed reports stated that the Chinese government will soon be implementing measures to prevent capital flows in the form of Bitcoin or other digital currencies. With Bitcoin price currently staying a bit....
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The Central Bank Of Venezuela applied the announced redenomination plan for the national fiat currency, the bolivar on October 1. This redenomination implied slashing six zeroes from the currency, to make payments and currency handling easier, according to earlier statements. However, just hours after applying this measure, the bolivar lost more than 20% of its value against the U.S. dollar.
Venezuela Slashes Six Zeroes From Its Currency
The Central Bank of Venezuela, the institution that dictates the monetary policy of the country, has applied a redenomination of its fiat....
Given the current exchange rate to and from Venezuelan bolivar, Bitcoin makes a lot more sense than the national currency. The financial turmoil in Venezuela is affecting a lot of local businesses. But internationals service providers are also growing more concerned about what is going on there. Destinia, a well-known travel agency, has confirmed they prioritize Bitcoin payments for Venezuelan flights. With little confidence in the bolivar and the growing demand for Bitcoin, this could be a turning moment for the company. This decision by Destinia is quite surprising, although not entirely....
So far, three Bitcoin exchanges have established themselves in Venezuela. SurBitcoin is by far the biggest, whereas Yabit and Cryptobuyer are relatively new on the scene. Bitcoin remains one of the most popular commodities in all of Venezuela. The country is plagued by hyperinflation, and consumers have very restricted access to financial assets. Bitcoin provides an excellent opportunity to hedge against further inflation of the Bolivar, as well as invest in the future. The month of July has been a particularly good one for Venezuela. The number of transactions per week continues to....
This plan by the Venezuelan government is a bold one, that will ultimately not entirely work as intended. The financial situation in Venezuela continues to go from bad to worse. Just last week, the government announced a new 20,000 bolivar bill to reduce the existing bank note supply. A new law will replace the current highest-denomination banknotes with coins in the following 72 hours. A similar strategy has been employed in India, which has not worked out at all. Replacing existing banknotes with coins seems like taking four steps backward. For the Venezuelan government, the decision....
All of this goes to show the situation in Venezuela is more troublesome than many people assumed. As if the financial situation in Venezuela isn’t bad enough, bank ATM withdrawal limits have been restricted. Every bank customer can withdraw US$5 worth of Bolivars per day from now on. Going to the bank teller behind the counter is subject to the same limits. Not a positive development by any means and the situation will only grow worse. These new guidelines were designed to go into effect as of December 1, 2016. Several Venezuelan banks are already enforcing these new limits without prior....