A major currency overhaul comes into effect in Venezuela on Monday. Socialist
President Nicolas Maduro is battling to end the economic turmoil that has
thrown the oil-rich, cash-poor South American nation into chaos. Here is what
you need to know. What is happening?
Caracas will begin issuing new banknotes after slashing five zeroes off
the crippled bolivar. The new sovereign bolivar, named as such to distinguish
it from the current strong bolivar (which has proven to be anything but), will
be anchored to Venezuela's widely discredited cryptocurrency, the petro. Each
petro will be worth around $60 (£47), based on the price of a barrel of the
country's oil. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro holds a bank note from the
new currency Bolivar Soberano (Sovereign Bolivar) That will be 3,600 sovereign
bolivars in the new currency, which signals a massive devaluation. In addition,
the minimum wage will be fixed at half a petro (1,800 sovereign bolivars) from
Monday. This is about $28 (£22), more than 34 times the previous level of less
than a dollar at the prevailing black market rate. More…
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