People in the South American country, Venezuela, use bitcoin primarily as a bridge currency between the US dollar and the local currency, according to research by Matt Alhborg, a data scientist and researcher at dlab.vc during a black-out.
Venezuela dominates crypto trading in South America.
An electricity black-out occurred on 7th March in Venezuela, with which economic activity across the country came to a standstill for several days. During this black-out, Alhborg observed a drastic drop in the Bitcoin and crypto trading volume in the country. The other noticeable thing was that the trading volume in bitcoin and other crypto was startlingly equivalent in other South American countries as well, which shows the dominance of Venezuela in the continent when it comes to cryptocurrency trading.
Venezuela continues to suffer from hyperinflation.
The South American country has been suffering from hyperinflation for a long time as the value of the national currency fell to historic rules because of several sanctions from the USA and the UN. Because of the hyperinflation, several million people have fled the country as they could not afford basic necessities in the country. The coronavirus has reached the South American country as over 70 positive cases were reported. The country is already facing an economic crisis, and the novel coronavirus outbreak could make the situation much worse.
