Venezuela Shatters Bitcoin Trading Records With 500,000,000 Bolivars Per Week

Trading between Bitcoin and the Venezuelan Bolivar (VES) has beaten all records to pass 500 million for the first time last week.

7 Days, Half A Billion Bolivars

Data from Coin Dance, which tracks volumes on P2P platform Localbitcoins, confirms that the seven days ending August 25 saw BTC/VES achieve volumes never seen before.

The results come the same week Venezuela revalued the bolivar to create the new Sovereign Bolivar, lowering the currency’s value by 96 percent in the process.

For the week, Localbitcoins processed 506.3 million VES, a figure which dwarfs the previous all-time high of 175.8 million seen the week before.

In Bitcoin terms, the figure was also the highest ever, at 1143 BTC.

The Venezuelan government has come under extensive criticism for rolling out its Sovereign Bolivar project, which is tied to its national cryptocurrency Petro. As Bitcoinist reported, both Petro and the VES have received broad votes of no confidence, sources describing the latter as a…