The effects of the Corona virus continue to rise, spread and sow panic at the level of governments and citizens.

Venezuela is under quarantine to fight the spread of the coronavirus, which has led to the closure of all banks.

At the same time, bitcoin trading on P2P platforms is increasing.

Although there are only 33 cases of people infected with the coronavirus across Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro has placed the entire country under quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus.

In compliance with the decision of Venezuelan President “Maduro”, the entire national banking system was closed for an indefinite period.

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Meanwhile, Bitcoin trading inside Venezuela appears to be on the rise.

issued Mr. Antonio Morales Rodriguez, President of SUDEBAN, the highest regulatory body for all banking activities in Venezuela, a letter addressed to national banks earlier this week, urging them to close their doors without a clear date for a return to normal life and work, and this is quoted From the message:

I am writing this letter… to guide you

As of Monday, March 16, 2020, all activities involving direct interest in customers, users and the general public through agencies, branches, offices and administrative headquarters will be suspended indefinitely across the country.

#ItsNews || Circular sent to all institutions in the banking sector regarding the continuation of the online banking service during the state of alert pic.twitter.com/A7ANCww6R0

– SudebanInforma (@SudebanInforma) March 15, 2020

But the Venezuelan public seems to have ignored most of the news of the bank closures.

Lack of liquidity, dependence on the US dollar, and technical infrastructure are all factors that have helped Venezuelans dispense with traditional banking services.

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For years, Venezuela’s informal economy thrived, with most people sticking to cash, barter, and gold in the southern regions of the country, and crypto among a small but growing segment of the population.

Bitcoin trading increased during the crisis period:

Bitcoin trading on peer-to-peer platforms has seen a significant increase as the use of LocalBitcoins has increased in Venezuela.

At the end of February, the volume of Bitcoin trading on LocalBitcoins in Venezuela was around 491 BTC.

Last week, that number rose to 540 BTC.

Meanwhile, across Latin America, other countries (with the exception of Brazil) are becoming increasingly cautious about the coronavirus.

Countries such as Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay have closed their borders, and many residents within these countries have been forced to stay at home under quarantine.

Similarly, the volume of crypto trading in these countries appears to be on the rise.

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In Colombia, for example, bitcoin trading volume rose from 289 BTC to 403 BTC in just one week in the midst of the pandemic, numbers that have not appeared in the country since mid-2019.

In Argentina, traders broke the weekly barrier of trading 50 bitcoin, a milestone that has been reached less than 10 times in the past three years.

Meanwhile, in China, the country with the highest volume of P2P trading, Bitcoin reached over 6% in OTC exchanges for the first time earlier this week.

Because of “Corona” … Bitcoin is trading 15% higher than its real price in China

It appears that Bitcoin is useful in times of disease and epidemics and replaces paper and cash that may carry the Corona virus itself.

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