Analyst Matt Ahlborg (Matt Ahlborg) reported that data on trading at the LocalBitcoins site suggest that in 2018 Venezuela made more bitcoin transactions than Canada, India and Australia combined.
According to the data, the turnover of Venezuela exceeded $ 235 million. For comparison, in the United States, the world's largest economy, the volume amounted to about $ 373 million. In total, in 2018, bitcoins were sold for $ 3.1 billion.
According to the analyst, one of the more significant factors affecting the low level of trading on LocalBitcoins in developed countries is a higher rate than on platforms requiring KYC. In countries where there is access to centralized sites, such as Simplex or Coinbase , users rarely resort to p2p platforms.
The sanctions imposed on Russia because of the Crimea, led to an increase in Bitcoin trade on LocalBitcoins . In addition, the uncertainty in the regulation of cryptocurrency in Russia also makes it the largest market for buying and selling bitcoins on p2p platforms. The volume of Russia on LocalBitcoins is equal to $ 756 million, thanks to which it came out on top.
Aalborg added a new metric called Use to an Economic (Online) Person (UP (O) EP). This indicator takes into account the possibility of connecting to the Internet in the country, the number of bitcoins and an indicator of economic freedom.
UP (O) EP is equal to 1000 (or more), while in the USA and Canada it is below 20. In Russia, this figure is 220, with volume prevailing on LocalBitcoin.
Publication date 10.02.2019
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