Bitcoin Volume Hits All-Time High In Venezuela Amid Growing Economic Chaos

Tensions between Venezuela and the United States continue to grow, with President Donald Trump increasing US sanctions against Nicolas Maduro’s administration. The new sanctions against Venezuela have forced many Venezuelans to seek refuge in Bitcoin as the economic uncertainties escalate.

The state of the Venezuelan economy and political system has been in disarray and the entire world has been watching the events unfold. The country has witnessed its national currency rendered almost worthless after suffering one of the worst periods of hyperinflation ever recorded. And as the economic and political crisis in the embattled South American country escalates, her citizens are taking refuge in Bitcoin.

Trump freezes all Venezuelan government assets

Almost 68 billion Venezuelan Bolivars were traded for Bitcoin (BTC) last week on LocalBitcoins, according to data compiled by Coin.dance. Bitcoin volumes in the country are soaring after the Donald Trump administration froze all Venezuelan government’s assets in the United States. Trump also signed an executive order that banned the United States from doing business with the South American country.

The ban places USA’s trade relations with Venezuela on par with North Korea, Iran, Syria and Cuba. Trump’s decision to impose a freeze on all Venezuelan public assets in the US is aimed at escalating a diplomatic and economic pressure campaign to remove Nicolas Maduro from power.

Chicagotribune Report reads in part:

“The Trump administration froze all Venezuelan government assets Monday in a dramatic ratcheting up of tensions with Nicolás Maduro that places his socialist administration on a short list of adversaries from Cuba, North Korea, Syria and Iran that have been targeted by such aggressive U.S. actions.

Countries are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies

It goes without saying nations that are under heavy sanctions from the United States are increasingly turning to digital money in a desperate attempt to circumvent these embargoes. Iran’s and North Korean’s economies, for instance, are among those that are most threatened by these sanctions. Iranian’s Rial,for example, has plunged to record lows as the US sanctions intensify. The sanctions target the Islamic country over its unravelling nuclear deal with world powers.