Venezuelan Bolívar Soberano (VES)

Basic Concepts of the Venezuelan Bolivar

The Venezuelan Bolivar is the official currency of Venezuela with the code VES and symbol Bs. It is mainly used for domestic transactions and is frequently adjusted due to hyperinflationary issues.

Region of Use

The Venezuelan Bolivar circulates only within Venezuela and serves as the country's legal tender for day-to-day payments and commercial activities.

Unit and denomination

The unit of currency is the Bolivar, and the secondary currency is the cent, although the cent has been largely discontinued. Common banknote denominations include 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 bolivares; coins are available in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 bolivares, but coins are less commonly used due to inflation.

Historical Background

The Venezuelan Bolivar was originally introduced in 1879 to replace the former currency, the Venezuelan Peso. Due to severe economic crisis and hyperinflation, Venezuela reformed its currency in 2008 with the introduction of the strong bolivar, then reformed it again in 2018 with the introduction of the sovereign bolivar, and then in 2021 with the digital bolivar to simplify transactions and counter currency devaluation.