The ongoing turmoil and the failure of socialist policies has caused the value of the Venezuelan currency, the bolivar, to tank — sinking to levels lower than that of video game currency.
The US Department of Treasury issued sanctions on Monday against the government of Nicolás Maduro following an election victory the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, called a “sham” and “another step towards dictatorship.”
Venezuelan Twitter user KalebPrime was the first to note the plummeting value of the bolivar during the onset of riots and mass protests against the Maduro government. He noted on July 14 that the exchange rate for the bolivar was lower than that of the digital currency used in “World of Warcraft.”
Per Brandon Morse at The Blaze, new data suggests that KalebPrime’s numbers are now outdated, and that the bolivar is worth even less. Dolartoday, which tracks the unofficial value of the bolivar, rates it at 11,185.95 per US dollar — worth 2.6k less than when KalebPrime first made his observations. As Morse points out citing a 2015 CNN Money article, the value of the bolivar hovered around 279 bolivars per dollar. The currency has been in freefall ever since.
The Maduro government attempted to stop the bleeding with the introduction of a new, controlled exchange rate called the Dipro earlier this March, but it didn’t do much as most citizens cling to their precious, but increasingly worthless bolivars — the only currency besides US dollars and bitcoins worth anything on the Venezuelan black market.
In contrast, you’ll only receive around 6,500 gold in World of Warcraft for every dollar you spend. The fluctuating value, per WOWTokenPrices, is based on in-game trade and tied to World of Warcraft tokens, which costs players $20 each.
With the full takeover by the Maduro government and their refusal to back down from its failed economics, the future of Venezuela is nothing but bleak. Having the value of your currency be worth less than World of Warcraft gold should be enough to prove that socialism always results in failure.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
