As the coronavirus pandemic accelerates an already unprecedented economic crisis, Lebanon’s national currency has lost almost two-thirds of its value over the past six months. 

The depreciation of the Lebanese pound has slashed salaries, triggered rapid inflation and threatened to wipe out the life savings of hundreds of thousands of people. Food prices have also risen by at least 58 percent since October, when mass anti-government protests swept across the country and brought down a government. 

In September last year, a parallel market for the pound emerged for the first time since 1997, when it was pegged to the U.S. dollar at a rate of LL1,507.5. The official peg was established in order to curb hyperinflation following Lebanon’s 15 year civil war.

As the country’s situation has worsened, unofficial exchange rates have crashed to more than LL4,000 to the dollar. Lebanese authorities have cracked down on currency traders, blaming them for the collapse of the pound. Desperate to stem the bleeding, the government has now blocked dozens of apps that provide information on the currency’s true market value.