'World of Warcraft' in-game currency worth nearly 7 times more than Venezuelan bolivar, report says
A woman counts bolivar notes as she pays for an electronic item at an store in La Guaira.
(Reuters)
Venezuela’s national currency is becoming so irrelevant in the real world it's less valuable than money that only exists in the mythical world.
“World of Warcraft’s” in-game currency is now worth nearly seven times more than the Venezuelan bolivar, Fortune reported Monday. The value of the gold used to buy and sell items in Azeroth – the game’s fictional world – was worth only two times as much last August.
As Fortune breaks it down, the U.S. dollar is worth roughly 68,915 bolivar. “World of Warcraft” tokens – used to extend play time or a character’s life – can be bought with $20 or in-game gold. The in-game gold price of a token comes out to 203,035 pieces, according to WoWTokenPrices.com. That comes out to about 10,152 gold per U.S. dollar, according to Fortune.
With that figure, Fortune explains that “World of Warcraft” gold is worth nearly 6.8 times more than the bolivar. And on the black market, it could be worth more than 62 times than the bolivar.
The Venezuelan government has refused to allow international aid, claiming that would amount to foreign intervention. Caracas has also denied there’s an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called for Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro to step down Tuesday.
"For the safety and security of all the peoples of Latin America, it is time for Maduro to go," Haley said.
Haley said 1.5 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2014. She called it "the largest displacement of people in the region's history."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.