Bitcoin Buying on the Rise Again in Venezuela

Venezuelans’ interest in buying Bitcoin has increased significantly over the last three months, Criptonoticias news outlet reports Wednesday, June 6, citing data from the LocalBitcoins exchange.

Venezuela experienced its first cryptocurrency boom in early 2017, when a record volume of 805 bitcoins exchanged in a week was set.

Venezuelan bolivar to Bitcoin exchange volume. Source: LocalBitcoins

Following that, the level of interest towards crypto in Venezuela dropped, coinciding with a decline in trading volume to as low as 150 bitcoins bought per week.

However, according to Criptonoticias, in early-to-mid 2018, Bitcoin investment surged once again in Venezuela, as evidenced by LocalBitcoins data. The volume of Venezuelan bolivar to Bitcoin exchange increased by 138% from March to April, and by 39% more from April to May.

The first week of June was in line with this trend, Criptonoticias points out. Over the last week of May some 4.9 trillion bolivars were spent on bitcoins, while the first week of June had seen the volume grow by 40.8% to 6.9 trillion.

Criptonoticias links the growing interest towards Bitcoin to hyperinflation in Venezuela. As bolivar keeps falling, in late May hyperinflation in the country surpassed 25,000%, according to Forbes.

As per Similarweb, Venezuelans comprise the largest share of Localbitcoins’ audience, followed by visitors from the US and the UK.