Reasons why Venuzuela is the biggest adopter of cryptocurrencies.

Venezuela is an example of cryptocurrency adoption during an economic crisis. No other economy facing hyperinflation has come near the South American nation in terms of GDP-adjusted activity on peer-to-peer crypto exchanges.In general, Venezuelans cite a combination of factors for the rise of crypto there including migration, capital controls, risk of government seizure, demand for hard money and exposure to the petro, the cryptocurrency backed by the government. In GDP-adjusted analyses of peer-to-peer bitcoin trading volumes,Venezuela has continued to dominate – with a monthly level at least twice as high as the next-largest market, Nigeria.Other countries that also suffer from hyperinflation have not come close to Venezuela in peer-to-peer bitcoin activity. Among the 10 economies that have experienced the highest rates of annual inflation since 2017, according to data from the International Monetary Fund, only Venezuela, Argentina and Iran have shown significant peer-to-peer bitcoin market activity, and none approach Venezuela in size or consistency. Venezuela’s peer-to-peer bitcoin activity has been extraordinary, whether measured as an absolute or relative to GDP.What sets Venezuela apart may be governmental support of a digital currency. The petro helped loosen Venezuelans’ fear of dealing with services like LocalBitcoins . Venezuelans prefer peer-to-peer exchanges also because they’re better than other alternatives. Centralized services, for example, have lower liquidity and less-developed trading capabilities due to a lack of service from Venezuelan banks. The “early bird” factor is yet another reason. LocalBitcoins became such a popular exchange in Venezuela not only because it was inexpensive, but also because it was the first thing available to Venezeulans as soon as government normalization of cryptocurrencies was in the air around 2017.Read the full article here:https://ift.tt/3eQWLXH

Submitted November 12, 2020 at 12:13PM