Zimbabwe continues its fight for Bitcoin security, as US dollar scarcity sees exchanges demand $9,500 per coin Monday.
Analysis of local platform Golix.io reveals Bitcoin buy and sell rates which topped $10,000 in previous days.
Currently, traders can buy BTC for $9,500 and sell at $9,380.
Zimbabwe’s nascent cryptoeconomy
The troubled state of Zimbabwe’s nascent cryptoeconomy reveals the economic difficulties facing the country’s population, as inflation soars again and dollar cash shortages become ever more present.
Vince Musewe, a Harare-based economist, told local news publication The National:
“The problem is the exact opposite of what it was during hyperinflation. Then, there was plenty of cash money, but no goods in the shops. Now, there are goods on the shelves but no money to buy them with.”
In May, the government admitted it was importing $10 mln worth of the greenback every week to shore up availability.
Venezuela’s advanced testbed
In more advanced Bitcoin ‘testbed’ Venezuela meanwhile, it’s Bitcoin mining that’s hitting unprecedented levels, with reports suggesting over 100,000 citizens are now involved in the practice.
While the subject of a state crackdown earlier this year, using the national grid to squeeze extra profit out of the comparatively stable Bitcoin has proven too good an opportunity to miss for those whose national fiat currency is practically worthless.
Electrum contributor Randy Brito, who named the figure, explained to the AFP at the weekend:
"Whoever buys Bitcoins with bolivars earns money by increasing the price of the Bitcoin against the dollar, and escapes inflation.”