How Bitcoin and Erthereum are Helping Some People in Venezuela to Survive Hyperinflation & Chaos

This is an excellent example of how Bitcoin can help people to survive in a time of crisis.

Current Situation

You may already know that things are quite dire in Venezuela. There is political strife which is causing uncertainty and instability.

Financially, oil accounts for 95% of Venezuela's export revenues. Since the price of oil has declined, this revenue stream has been greatly reduced. In addition, oil revenues were being used for programs to help the poor and needy. Those programs have been curtailed which has added to the unrest.

The result is that their fiat currency is increasingly worthless and many basic items like medicine are in short suppy.

There's also the very real threat of increased U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, that could have an additional negative impact on that country's economy.

How is Bitcoin (and Erthereum) Helping?

So how is Bitcoin helping? Right now, Venezuela is suffering from hyperinflation. Everything is much more expensive and basic necessities are in short supply.

Many people there are now mining Bitcoin to make enough money to survive. Fortunately, electricity is subsidized, so electric costs are quite low. Consequently, some miners are making $500 a month. This allows them to buy necessities, even if they have to go outside Venezuela to buy them.

The downside? The government has started arresting miners, which has driven them underground. Some are also shifting to erthereum for higher profits.

Source

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/24/bitcoin-mining-is-popular-in-venezuela-because-of-hyperinflation.html