Bitcoin demand in economically volatile countries surges

[Memminger]

Just like in Venezuela since they're having an economic crisis, probably they are looking for an alternative way since their main currency isn't stable nor in a good condition. They might trying bitcoin if it'll work for them just to survive because of the crisis.

Since they cannot rely on their fiat already, another possible way they can do is to go to the traditional one and use gold, or buy foreign currency, or just adopt bitcoin and cryptocurrency. It's actually an obvious move.

In my opinion, gold is not a good idea
An average person don't know to to buy and sell gold, the government will know if you are buying gold and it's very dangerous to keep gold at you house and if youleave in your bank, the government can take, we are talking about country in a moment of crysis

With BTC you can buy online, have your private key and it's more secure, if the person needs to leave the country, it can be recovered in another country without any problem

It is not really about the government tracking your financial whereabouts or rather your wealth but rather it is more about the practicability. It is not practical and easy to get yourself a gold compared to Bitcoin which you can easily acquire in a lot of way and less hassle. On top of that, if we talk about a matter of security then there is no argument needed as you already pointed it out. In the moment of crisis, you should always think about a simpler and as effective as any alternatives it should be.

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[The Sceptical Chymist]

For example, with Venezuela it has been used as a replacement for their peso currency for years now,

Really?  I could swear that most Venezuelans have been using stable currencies like the USD rather than bitcoin, but I could be wrong.  That amount of LBC exchanges in Venezuela is incredible for one year--I had no idea it was that high, especially given that the other two countries pale in comparison.

Let's hope for their sakes that bitcoin at least holds its value, because if it were to crash those people would be even more screwed.  It's far from a safe-haven asset, what with all the volatility it's notorious for.  They probably would be better off holding USD instead, at least for purchases, though I'm happy that these countries have such an interest in bitcoin.  I think it's great, actually.

[NathanJB]

For example, with Venezuela it has been used as a replacement for their peso currency for years now,

Really?  I could swear that most Venezuelans have been using stable currencies like the USD rather than bitcoin, but I could be wrong.  That amount of LBC exchanges in Venezuela is incredible for one year--I had no idea it was that high, especially given that the other two countries pale in comparison.

Let's hope for their sakes that bitcoin at least holds its value, because if it were to crash those people would be even more screwed.  It's far from a safe-haven asset, what with all the volatility it's notorious for.  They probably would be better off holding USD instead, at least for purchases, though I'm happy that these countries have such an interest in bitcoin.  I think it's great, actually.

A lot of people in Venezuela might really have genuine interest in Bitcoin but I am almost sure that the figures and the interest are somehow bloated to an exaggerated extent by the news. They are somehow thickly sugar coated to make it appear as if Bitcoin is serving as the silver bullet or a sort of a blanket solution to their problems there. I have to agree that Bitcoin is going to be a difficult solution to a people who have experienced the worst turbulence in a fiat's value. They are most probably tired of an unstable currency. Bitcoin is such.

[electronicash]

For example, with Venezuela it has been used as a replacement for their peso currency for years now,

Really?  I could swear that most Venezuelans have been using stable currencies like the USD rather than bitcoin, but I could be wrong.  That amount of LBC exchanges in Venezuela is incredible for one year--I had no idea it was that high, especially given that the other two countries pale in comparison.

Let's hope for their sakes that bitcoin at least holds its value, because if it were to crash those people would be even more screwed.  It's far from a safe-haven asset, what with all the volatility it's notorious for.  They probably would be better off holding USD instead, at least for purchases, though I'm happy that these countries have such an interest in bitcoin.  I think it's great, actually.

A lot of people in Venezuela might really have genuine interest in Bitcoin but I am almost sure that the figures and the interest are somehow bloated to an exaggerated extent by the news. They are somehow thickly sugar coated to make it appear as if Bitcoin is serving as the silver bullet or a sort of a blanket solution to their problems there. I have to agree that Bitcoin is going to be a difficult solution to a people who have experienced the worst turbulence in a fiat's value. They are most probably tired of an unstable currency. Bitcoin is such.

its not just the countries experiencing crisis are buying BTC. venezuelans sees BTC or the real cryptocurrencies to be more of a solution to save their wealth while they are in the unstable solution. some of them may even be buying USDT just to have that money being safe but while they are at it, might as well just invest to BTC while the price is low and that they can gain whenever price rockets.

[justdimin]

Well, people see this as a way out and that is kinda the point of bitcoin anyway. When did bitcoin was first created?

After the 2008 crisis, why was it created? Because, satoshi realized 2008 was a big crisis that was saved by the government to protect the rich and screw the poor so satoshi wanted to make a currency that couldn't be toy for the rich and could help the poor as well.

Yes, right now there are tons of whales who play with bitcoin like it is a toy but at the end of the day poor people could hold it as long as they need and if rich want to keep making money from it they would eventually make some poor people rich as well. That is just the way bitcoin is, it helps the poorer people more in the sense that small gets bigger, big just gets bigger as well.

[alexsandria]

Unfortunate they are to totally accept bitcoin specially Venezuela 'cause they have no option to fight their economic recession. In crypto currency side is that, it is overwhelming to know that the demand for Bitcoin would go higher since there were a countless of people are now using Bitcoin but on their ends is that they are pitiful because their currency value are now close to zero. And what if there were no crypto at all? They might be drowning to a lot of debt though.

[Mila52]

It is a logical way to do in a crisis. You have to store your wealth that cannot be affected by the melting economy of your country. And there are very few options. One is real estate but that would require large amounts and tedious to process. Another is gold, but just like what above me said, it is hard to secure. The most convenient is bitcoin and other cyptocurrencies. Easy to acquire, does not require large amount and can be secured easily.

But this is just three countries. How about other countries that are volatile?

For example, Ukraine Parliament is planing to introduce for consideration a bill of the legalization of operations with cryptocurrency. Many deputies in their declarations indicated the  crypto assets. During the global crises, many people purchased real estate. But local wars in some countries showed the inefficiency of such preservation the assets. Now the cryptocurrency allows the citizens of poor countries with a destroyed economy to survive today.

[huu78]

It might be a scenario over the spike. But can not be in the undeniable investors and new people prefer Bitcoin because it is safer than the currency in their country.
Their currencies are not as stable as they should and think people are more confident in the cryptocurrency and move on, so the volume that happens is enormous.

[JeffBrad12]

If the economy of a country is volatile where there's an option that equally volatile aswell which is cryptos It's totally understandable that the citizens are going to all in to cryptos anyway, bitcoin is accepted worldwide meanwhile owning property or cash there could gone anytimes. Although the surges I'm however pretty sure that most of the people would prefer USD anyway because it's stable.

its not just the countries experiencing crisis are buying BTC. venezuelans sees BTC or the real cryptocurrencies to be more of a solution to save their wealth while they are in the unstable solution. some of them may even be buying USDT just to have that money being safe but while they are at it, might as well just invest to BTC while the price is low and that they can gain whenever price rockets.

That maybe the case but however the volatility is too risky if you are living in a country where the economy is relatively weak, every cents matter.

[eaLiTy]

I wonder whether the surge in the bitcoin price that started in March/April is correlated with the Hong Kong riots which started on 31st March 2019 and are still ongoing.

It is really impossible to find out the real reason for the price rise and the price started rising during the Hong Kong riots and it can be a mere coincidence as every time when ever there is a rise or fall in the price of bitcoin people like to link that to the events globally even if it has not value what so ever. The main reason people are looking to invest in bitcoin is because of the economic uncertainty in some countries where the economy is struggling because of inflation caused by bad policies and they are looking for a viable currency that cannot be controlled by the government.

[1Referee]

Another is gold, but just like what above me said, it is hard to secure.

It's not hard to secure at all, whatever that means. The most common form of Gold is jewelry. It's very easy to obtain and exchange for fiat currency when you want to sell it. It's also a convenient way to escape the financial system of your country without raising any suspicion of capital flight, because buying jewelry is a common practice pretty much in every country.

In the end, nothing goes above dollar bills in countries amidst financial chaos. Bitcoin is a great option if you want to secure a part of your wealth, but too much exposure isn't something I would recommend because you want stability, not volatility. The benefit of the dollar is that it is stable and you can spend it pretty easily because there is plenty of demand from local folks and businesses to accept it.

Bitcoin has never really been stress tested in such scenario, hence the reason for me to not follow the herd and say it will help a lot of people. I don't think it will at this stage.

[Wintersoldier]

I wonder whether the surge in the bitcoin price that started in March/April is correlated with the Hong Kong riots which started on 31st March 2019 and are still ongoing.

It is really impossible to find out the real reason for the price rise during the Hong Kong riots but every time when ever there is a rise or fall in the price of bitcoin people like to link that to the events globally even if it has not value what so ever. The main reason people are looking to invest in bitcoin is because of the economic uncertainty where the economy is struggling and they are looking for a viable currency that cannot be controlled by the government.

Technically this events leads to people in conclusion that the main reason for the cryptocurrency or bitcoin price increase is the riot and the news concerning hong kong, not considering the fact that the market adoption of cryptocurrency in a holistic view is getting higher and higher over time. With regards to the economy struggling, would it be better to consider using XRP or other crypto with low transaction fees instead of bitcoin? Take note, economy is struggling, people are so, why don't we maximize our cryptocurrencies capabilities to solve such issues.

[alyssa85]

In the end, nothing goes above dollar bills in countries amidst financial chaos. Bitcoin is a great option if you want to secure a part of your wealth, but too much exposure isn't something I would recommend because you want stability, not volatility. The benefit of the dollar is that it is stable and you can spend it pretty easily because there is plenty of demand from local folks and businesses to accept it.

Bitcoin has never really been stress tested in such scenario, hence the reason for me to not follow the herd and say it will help a lot of people. I don't think it will at this stage.

True - but bitcoin is attractive in places here dollar bills are scarce. And dollars are scare in many developing countries. To get hold them, they need to sell goods in return for dollars and that's not easy given the global competition. So changing your local currency into bitcoin is easier. You can then change the bitcoin into dollars at a later date. 

[karanggatak]

yes I agree with you when a crisis occurs part of the stock market will be affected and this makes some investors will secure their assets to a safer place. and some of the investors chose bitcoin as an alternative investment. and what causes bitcoin demand to increase in Venezuela is because there is hyperinflation, which causes the fiat currency to fall. so they looked for alternative payment methods and they chose bitcoin. bitcoin can be a solution when a country is experiencing an economic crisis.

[abeecrypto]

Well, that is not surprising. People from those countries ain't just buying Bitcoin as an alternative to their Fiat, they are buying in the hope of making profits in the future. As Bitcoin has more advantages over other alternatives, they go for it.

[imstillthebest]

Well, that is not surprising. People from those countries ain't just buying Bitcoin as an alternative to their Fiat, they are buying in the hope of making profits in the future. As Bitcoin has more advantages over other alternatives, they go for it.

bitcoin is not new so its normal that its popularity increase and people  start to check it but there are those people that buy btc not because they want to make profit in the form of investment but because they want to use it as a curency like for example on those country that has a financial crisis  . they look for alternatives and they choose cryptos such as btc but bitcoin is not the only coin that is available on the crypto market , there are those altcoins that also have thier own advantages  .

[BitHodler]

The charts make it look like there is a lot happening, but when you for example calculate the volumes in Venezuela back to the USD, it's no longer impressive.... actually, volumes have gone down in USD not up.

You can't tell me that $3-$5 million in volume on a weekly basis is anything to pay attention to.... it's peanuts in the grand scheme of things, so unless they grow their volumes seriously, there is not much point focusing on them.

[7788bitcoin]

You can't tell me that $3-$5 million in volume on a weekly basis is anything to pay attention to.... it's peanuts in the grand scheme of things, so unless they grow their volumes seriously, there is not much point focusing on them.

If you look at the grand scheme of things then a few millions is not a huge volume of trade and it is just peanuts but if you consider the financial crisis situation in a country you should understand that people are willing to trust the bitcoin market and trading is going on despite the financial issues they are facing where people are not able to get jobs or basic living facilities, so these amounts are huge considering their real state of their economy.

[Eclipse26]

I don't know whether to be happy with this sudden adoption of bitcoin in other countries or not because they're experiencing a crisis... But one thing for sure is that bitcoin is helping them to survive their everyday living which their local currency cannot support. The only concern here is the volatility of bitcoin as well. Their currency is already not stable yet they're investing on something volatile as well. The con is when the price is low, it'll be hard for them as well

[BigBoom3599]

I don't know whether to be happy with this sudden adoption of bitcoin in other countries or not because they're experiencing a crisis... But one thing for sure is that bitcoin is helping them to survive their everyday living which their local currency cannot support. The only concern here is the volatility of bitcoin as well. Their currency is already not stable yet they're investing on something volatile as well. The con is when the price is low, it'll be hard for them as well

At least Bitcoin is volatile in 2 ways, up and down  Most of these countries have a very high inflation national currency so holding that doesn't make any sense. They flee to bitcoin because it is easy to buy, transact and use even though it is still volatile. A currency that can go up or down is more preferable than a currency that can only go down, so it makes sense that people are buying bitcoin there. I'm glad cryptocurrency can finally be used for some real life purpose and can actually help people be safe from their governments.