Bitcoin in High Demand as BTC Volume Hits All Time High in South American Countries via LocalBitcoins

Bitcoin might be currently down about 80 percent from its all-time high (ATH) but it hasn't shaken people’s faith in the leading cryptocurrency. Looks like this massive drop in prices have made it the perfect opportunity for some people to start buying for the next bull wave. And South America is leading this group.

LocalBitcoins, a P2P exchange is registering a surge in Bitcoin volume from the South American countries like Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru among others. Since the beginning of 2017, the volume in these countries has increased about 5 to 500 thousand times.

Given the fact that fiat currencies like Venezuelan bolivar is extremely volatile being going through hyperinflation, Bitcoin offers a better alternative to the people living in the country. This further gives substance to the point that despite being volatile, cryptocurrencies can work as an alternative to the current financial system.

In the last few years, the fiat currency crisis in Latin America has escalated. Instead of providing stability, these currencies have lost a significant amount of their value.

Venezuela is the current example where a cup of coffee costs about 1 million and its fiat currency bolivar is far more volatile than Bitcoin. The Colombian peso used to cost about 25 percent more 5 years back while Argentine Peso now costs 2 times less than what it used to about a year ago.

The economic situation in Latin American countries provide cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin a good opportunity as a means of payment and a store of value.

Given the fact that Argentina celebrates “Bitcoin day”, it can be expected that Bitcoin volume will be seeing a surge in Argentina. Despite being bearish in 2018, cryptocurrencies registered rising volumes throughout that year. The trading volume has rather increased six times since 2017.

Apart from Bitcoin, Dash is another cryptocurrency that is pushing for adoption in Venezuela and Colombia.

Though the USA has the highest amount of crypto ATMs at 2534, Latin America is seeing a surge in Bitcoin ATMs that now accounts for 1.7 percent of the total crypto ATMs.

Source: https://coinatmradar.com/

Argentina saw an addition in Bitcoin ATMs with the total number now going to eight while Colombia has a higher number with the count going over 25. Meanwhile, Peru has only one crypto ATM and Chile has about 3 as per the data provided by Coinatmradar.