The point is you get a fair, unregulated, market exchange rate of Bolivars to USD (or Euro or Yuan or whatever) via bitcoin currency. At whatever that rate is based on supply and demand and you can transact at that rate.
Currency controls mean "we the govt. say our currency is worth x USD and you must transact at that rate" which kills the market and means zero USD sellers.
I'd expect the USD to Bolivar rate via bitcoin to be significantly more Bolivar to USD than the "official" rate.
In a sense this is nothing especially new in markets. You could always get a wildly more favourable rate for your USD behind the iron curtain on the black market. Local currency is worth something, people will take it at some value. Even zimbabwe, just add a bunch of zeroes...
Exactly, in Argentina the situation is similar. The problem is that no body wants bolivar (or pesos) at the official rate because is unfair.
Bitcoin can help to make that more fair and here is an example. An example is a person that works for a company abroad from Venezuela . If he does what is supposed to do, he will get paid in dollars but with a wire transfer but the local bank gives bolivar at the official rate only and won't be able to buy dollars back.
On the other hand there is always another person that needs to get dollars, to travel or to pay something.
One way to solve this issue is with Bank accounts abroad, the first person get paid on an account in a bank outside Venezuela, then he wire to the second person acc abroad. In exchange the second person pay in bolivar at a good rate to the first one. In the black market it sometimes call "wire dollar" or cable dollar.
Bitcoin can makes this easier because is more tangible, you can meet someone at any place and move the bitcoins from phone. It requires less trust between the parties.
The money always go where it wants to go, there is no way to regulate.
Currency controls mean "we the govt. say our currency is worth x USD and you must transact at that rate" which kills the market and means zero USD sellers.
I'd expect the USD to Bolivar rate via bitcoin to be significantly more Bolivar to USD than the "official" rate. In a sense this is nothing especially new in markets. You could always get a wildly more favourable rate for your USD behind the iron curtain on the black market. Local currency is worth something, people will take it at some value. Even zimbabwe, just add a bunch of zeroes...