Crypto adoption in Venezuela surges amid Corona outbreak

• Nationwide quarantine has forced Venezuela’s bank system to be halted “indefinitely.” 
• Following this, peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading has skyrocketed in the country.

After shutting banks in Venezuela to fight the spread of Coronavirus, peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading has skyrocketed in the country. Recently, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered a nationwide quarantine to slow the spread of the infection. As a part of this quarantine, the banking system has been halted “indefinitely.” 

Following a three-week skid in weekly volume, Localbitcoins trade activity between BTC and the bolivar has bounced back above $3.4 million over the last couple of weeks. Cryptocurrency adoption has appeared to have surged in the South American continent following the outbreak of Coronavirus. In Peru, Localbitcoins volume increased over 30% and Columbia saw a surge of about 15% over the last few days. Both countries have closed their borders recently.

The pandemic seems to have faltered the adoption of its oil-backed cryptocurrency, the Petro. Despite Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s efforts to increase its adoption, the citizens appear to have not welcomed the digital currency.