The current situation in Venezuela is a travesty. The economy is in freefall at a rate never seen before. If you don't spend your money today it will be worth considerably less tomorrow. By the end of 2018, the inflation rate is estimated to hit 1,000,00%!
To put things in perspective, the number of bolivars needed to buy a roll of toilet paper stacked against a roll of toilet paper.
With more than 32 million citizens, the country is in chaos. Most citizens are using life savings to just pay for food and other life necessities. On average the price of all goods has doubled every 26 days. Most citizens are live in candlelight as there have been countrywide power outages on a regular basis.
Below you can see a small business owner before and after the crisis. No other picture can summarize the devastation this economy crash has caused.
The root of the problem is the only source of income for the country is oil export. Prices on barrels of oil have fallen significantly since 2014. With no other valuable exports, Venezuela has no means to create wealth. It was never considered there would be a need for anything else.
A large portion of Venezuelans is attempting to leave the country. Most Venezuelans cannot afford the trip to leave the country or have anywhere to go. If they stay though, it is almost guaranteed they will starve and be homeless unless something drastically changes.
The government has raised minimum wage 3400% and has attempted to circulate new currency. Neither work to stop the hemorrhaging of their economy, only delay it slightly. There is some short-term relief with the new bills but it is a matter of months before they suffer the same fate.
Unless another country like the United States gets involved, cryptocurrency maybe the most effective solution to the problem. If so, maybe the quickest and most widespread adoption in a short period of time.
