Bitcoin Helping Citizens In Venezuela During Crisis

Venezuela’s situation seems to be getting more intense but a local Bitcoin user has explained how he has used the cryptocurrency to support him and his family during the crisis. Carlos Hernández has kept all his money in the leading cryptocurrency and only exchanges small amounts into the continuous hyperinflating economy when it is necessary.

The Venezuelan citizen lives in Ciudad Guayana told his story in the New York Times over the weekend about how Bitcoin is keeping his family safe throughout the chaos that is happening in the nation. The native currency to Venezuela is the Bolivar which is seeing an inflation rate of around 3.5 percent on a daily basis at the moment. Hernández said, “I don’t own bolívars, Venezuela’s official currency. I keep all of my money in bitcoin. Keeping it in bolívars would be financial suicide.”

He continued saying that he doesn’t have a bank account abroad and due to the currency controls in the country, “there’s no easy way for me to use a conventional foreign currency like American dollars.”

Hernández said that he has been able to keep on top of his bills and other household expenses thanks to cryptocurrency. In addition to this, Hernández noted that his father earns only $6 a month and his mother stays at home and doesn't have any income whatsoever.

In addition to this, his brother also relies on crypto. Juan is 28 and works as a lawyer but due to the hyperinflation he became a freelancer because “in times of hyperinflation, everyone is constantly getting poorer, including a lawyer’s clients.” He added that his brother made the “turn to cryptocurrencies to get paid” because PayPal was not a viable source due to the “exchange controls here allowing Venezuelan banks to use only local currency.”

Hernández said that in the end, “you could say that cryptocurrencies have saved our family.”

Conversion

In order to buy everyday products like bread and milk, Hernández said that cryptocurrencies must be first converted into bolivars and so he uses Localbitcoins to find buyers who use the same bank so “the wire transfer can go through immediately.” Following on from this he said “I can’t change too many bitcoins at once, though. The government doesn’t monitor cryptocurrency transactions (yet), but it does monitor transactions in bolívars — and any worth about $50 or more will automatically freeze your account until you can explain to your bank where the funds come from.”