Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's president, speaks next to a stack of 12 Kilogram gold ingots during a news conference on the country's cryptocurrency, known as the Petro, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Carlos Becerra | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The amount of bitcoin traded in crisis-stricken Venezuela has exploded to reach an all-time high. It comes at a time when tensions are reaching boiling point, with the country in the midst of the Western Hemisphere's worst humanitarian crisis in recent memory. In the last week, the amount of Bitcoin traded in the oil-rich, but cash-poor, country has soared by 30 percent to 2,454 bitcoins, according to crypto data tracker Coin Dance. That's equivalent to approximately $8.95 million per week and $1.29 million per day. Bitcoin is currently trading at $3,553.

The dramatic spike in weekly bitcoin trading volumes through to February 11 appears to show residents in Venezuela are opting to hold the world's most popular cryptocurrency instead of their own national currency as a store of value. Peer-to-peer trading volumes for Bitcoin have risen sharply in recent weeks, with the bolivar currency rendered practically worthless amid soaring hyperinflation.

Petro