This country could soon make Bitcoin its official currency
“We may well be witnessing the first ‘Bitcoinization’ of a sovereign state.” Image: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:
Latin America
From Bolivars to Bitcoins
In order to deal with ever-growing issues with hyperinflation, the country of Venezuela may soon decide to adopt a new currency: Bitcoin.
As explained by CoinTelegraph, Bitcoin has been the subject of a massive amount of mining and purchasing over the last few months, leading to a number of rumors regarding the country’s desire to incorporate it into their financial structure.
According to Daniel Osorio, from Andean Capital Advisors, Venezuela may be on the verge of forgoing their Bolivar currency. During an interview last week, he told CNBC“we may well be witnessing the first ‘Bitcoinization’ of a sovereign state.”
Osorio went on to explain that Venezuela is more than a week behind on a substantial bond interest payment. At present, it doesn’t have the money to address it or manage the economy. A simple lunch can now cost up to 200,000 Bolivars ($8-$10) prompting people to resort to using Bitcoin or money wires of other foreign currency. Bitcoin is appealing because it’s independent of the black market and tied to a fixed exchange platform, making it difficult to exploit.
First in Line
In August, Venezuela was listed as the top country with a failing currency ahead of Colombia and Argentina, with all ten countries listed expected to turn to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in the near future.
The “bitcoinization” of Venezuela hasn’t happened, despite what many would like to say, so we’ll have to wait to see what actually becomes of the situation. If it does completely shift, however, it could be used as another selling point to get people to adopt the biggest crypto out there.
Don't miss any update on this topic
Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.
License and Republishing
World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
The Agenda Weekly
A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.
More on Emerging TechnologiesSee all
Bolor-Erdene Battsengel and Oyungoo Enkhbold
October 21, 2024
Mirek Dušek
October 21, 2024
Elizabeth Mills
October 18, 2024
Jessica Wanger
October 18, 2024
Kate Whiting
October 16, 2024
Simon Torkington
October 16, 2024