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Currency tumbles as Venezuelans look to offload bolivars

FILE - This Jan. 4, 2008 file photo shows bank workers handling Venezuela's currency, the "Bolivar Fuerte," or Strong Bolivar, at the Central Bank in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuelans are expressing disbelief as the country’s currency has lost a quarter of its value on the black market in the space of a week in 2015, between May 14 and 22. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
FILE - This Jan. 4, 2008 file photo shows bank workers handling Venezuela's currency, the "Bolivar Fuerte," or Strong Bolivar, at the Central Bank in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuelans are expressing disbelief as the country’s currency has lost a quarter of its value on the black market in the space of a week in 2015, between May 14 and 22. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File) FILE - This Jan. 4, 2008 file photo shows bank workers handling Venezuela's currency, the "Bolivar Fuerte," or Strong Bolivar, at the Central Bank in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuelans are expressing disbelief as the country’s currency has lost a quarter of its value on the black market in the space of a week in 2015, between May 14 and 22. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – A staggering plunge in the free market value of Venezuelan currency sent people scrambling to sell off their depreciating bolivars Friday.

The widely followed website DolarToday, which tracks exchanges along the Colombian border, reported that the South American country’s currency lost a quarter of its value over the last eight days.

The site’s app has become so ubiquitous that everyone in smartphone-obsessed Caracas seemed to find out about the crash through 400 to the dollar at the same instant, as DolarToday sent out a series of alerts announcing the new numbers under the headline “hyperinflation!”

Venezuelan currency was trading at 415 bolivars per dollar Friday, according to the site. That’s down from 300 bolivars per dollar on May 14. It stood at 173 when the year started.

While many black market dealers paused transactions until the rate stabilizes, some Venezuelans said they had changed money at the 400 bolivar rate Friday.