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Venezuela gets new currency as government wrestles with rampant inflation

August 23, 2018

On Monday, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro rolled out a new sovereign currency.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the new notes are almost the same as the old, except for the elimination of five zeros from the denominations.

Venezuelans can now withdraw 10 bolivars per day from an ATM, for what that's worth. Which isn't much — about 15 cents on Monday, and already declining. Those who opt to wait in line at a teller window can withdraw 50 bolivars — initiallly worth approximately 75 cents.

At the current rate of hyperinflation in Venezuela, the new currency will be worth half as much in two weeks as it is today, unless Maduro's "really impressive magical formula" for economic stability works as advertised.

Critics find that unlikely, WSJ reported. The new currency is pegged to the "petro," a cryptocurrency invented by the government in an attempt to circumvent U.S. sanctions. The U.S. has banned the petro, essentially calling it a scam.

For now, shopkeepers are trying to figure out how to price their scant wares in the new currency. And shoppers are buying whatever they can before the new bolivar notes become as worthless as the old.