In Venezuela, inflation fears still prefer to have the US dollar, not a portion of Bitcoin. A new report suggests this.
New report: dollar still better than BTC
Inflation remains a big problem for Venezuelans. Even so, they choose the dollar, not BTC.
According to Diario Bitcoin, most firms in the country still quote prices in USD because the bolivar rate is too volatile to trade. In addition, while trading volumes on cryptocurrency trading platforms are quite high, the report’s author said experts agree that only “Small elite” regularly uses cryptocurrencies.
The number of bolivars traded on over-the-counter platforms such as LocalBitcoins continues to grow, but the amount of Bitcoin traded on these sites has dropped significantly. Especially when you compare the current data with the results from 2019. For example, last week only 71 BTC was traded on the platform. At its peak, it was as much as 2,487 BTC. However, this took place in the first week of February 2019.
On the other hand, lower-denomination dollar bills are particularly hard to come by today, added the author of the document, quoting journalists from Venezuela. One anonymous editor has stated that some citizens are willing to exchange a $ 10 banknote for an eight dollar bill. Why? This is because many stores refuse customers, for example, to pay for cheap items in denominations of $ 20 or $ 10.
BTC is safe haven?
The Venezuelan government says it wants to open up to cryptocurrencies.
On Twitter, cryptocurrency users were asked if they thought it was new “openness” will hurt Bitcoin’s status as “safe harbor ”.
It has been found that BTC users are using cryptocurrency to buy USD. Many of them believe that they are using Bitcoin and other tokens as a tool to buy dollars or transfer money to other countries.
Still other BTC investors have said they have lost faith in the domestic banking system, but also doubt that it will be able to maintain the dollar’s current special status internationally in the long term. One of the twitterers is especially worth quoting:
Anyone who knows about cryptocurrencies will not want fiat money.
Pregunta a los venezolanos que están aquí: ¿Ustedes creen que la mayor aperture a las transacciones en dólares restará el papel destacado que han tenido Bitcoin y las cripto en el país como monedas “refugio”? #bitcoin #Venezuela
– DiarioBitcoin (@DiarioBitcoin) March 11, 2021