Bolivar to Bitcoin Market Hits Record $1 Million Per Day

(Bloomberg) -- The Venezuelan bolivar to bitcoin market reached a record on Tuesday, as the dollar-starved nation increasingly seeks the digital token in exchange for its nearly worthless currency.

The equivalent of $1.006 million were exchanged from bolivars to the digital token on April 17, according to data from VeneBloc, which tracks transactions made on LocalBitcoins’ website and currently posts a rate of 845,000 bolivars per dollar. The trade helps Venezuelans access dollars (and other currencies) since the government enforced strict foreign exchange controls in 2003. Individuals and businesses often need to resort to the black market when they can’t obtain government approval to purchase dollars at legal rates.

With limited access to official foreign exchange markets, Venezuelans rely on a number of artifices to get a sense of what their money is worth -- from websites that track the rate to dollar auctions on WhatsApp groups and cryptocurrency exchanges. Amid skyrocketing inflation and a massive depreciation of the bolivar, even local businesses often demand foreign currency for nearly everything they offer.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Laya in Caracas at playa2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Cancel at dcancel@bloomberg.net, Walter Brandimarte

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