With an annual inflation rate of 1,700,000%, Venezuela is a hard place to survive for those relying on the official government-issued currency, bolívar. An economist in the country indicates that holding bolivars is ‘financial suicide’ that’s why he has turned to Bitcoin & crypto to survive.

In an article which appeared on the New York Times, the economist, Carlos Hernández, said:

I keep all my money in Bitcoin & crypto. Keeping it in bolívars would be financial suicide: the last time I checked, the rate of daily inflation was around 3.5 percent. That’s daily inflation; the annual inflation rate for 2018 was almost 1.7 million percent.

Although Bitcoin & crypto makes the economist to meet his personal and family needs, it is not all freedom. The Venezuelan government keeps track of any conversions above 50 U.S dollars. Hernandez notes that even if the government does not track Bitcoin & crypto transactions, it tracks fiat transactions. Converting more than $50 will require you to explain to the bank the source of the money.

According to Hernández, Bitcoin & crypto:

Have saved our family. I now cover our household’s expenses on my own. My father is a government employee – in a printing department with no paper – and earns $6 a month. My mother is a stay-at-home mom with no income. Cryptocurrencies helped my brother Juan, 28, escape Venezuela last summer.

The economist added that since the military personnel manning the borders seize fiat money from those trying to escape, his brother only needed to just memorize the password to his digital wealth.

For Hernández:

Borderless money is more than a buzzword for those of us who live in a collapsing economy and a collapsing dictatorship.

Even with Bitcoin & crypto, and after converting it to fiat, stores are shutting down due to the state of the economy.

Do you think adopting Bitcoin & crypto is the best option for those facing super inflation rates like Venezuela and Zimbabwe?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.