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Venezuela pegging its economic recovery to a cryptocurrency that’s widely considered a scam
CNBC ^ | 08-20-2018 | Kate Rooney

Posted on 08/20/2018 10:09:35 AM PDT by NRx

Venezuela is doing something completely unprecedented. Some even say illegal.

As part of an attempt to stop skyrocketing inflation, the country is issuing a new fiat currency called the "sovereign bolivar," which will be backed by a cryptocurrency. But that cryptocurrency, called the "petro," does not trade, and Venezuela's own parliament says it's being illegally used to mortgage the nation's cash-strapped oil reserves.

"This is a smoke-and-mirrors operation typical of Venezuela — I'll believe it when I see it," said Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University and one of the world's leading experts on hyperinflation. "The problem with the petro is it's a scam, it doesn't even trade."

In February, President Nicolas Maduro unveiled the oil-backed "petro" digital currency as a means to raise cash amid an economic meltdown and economic sanctions. Maduro said each petro token, which is not in circulation yet, would be backed by a barrel of the state's national petroleum. He also said about 100 million petro tokens would be issued — estimated to be worth around $6 billion.

Crypto rating site ICOindex.com, which rates initial coin offerings, labeled the petro "scam status." The site evaluates coins based on their white papers, and said while petro promised to be backed up by oil resources, "the technology and mechanisms to do so are not adequately explained." Another site, ICObench, gives it a 1.6 out of 5 stars.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Cuba; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Russia
KEYWORDS: bitcoin; cnbc; cryptocurrency; cuba; energy; hydrocarbons; hyperinflation; iran; itsallascam; johnshopkinsu; katerooney; maga; nicaragua; nicolasmaduro; opec; petro; reservecurrency; russia; sanctions; sovereignbolivar; stevehanke; venezuela; venezuelacollapse
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To: FatherofFive

My wife is from there. They have lost almost their entire middle class (3 million),in a country that was about 32 million three years ago.


41 posted on 08/20/2018 2:34:50 PM PDT by aloppoct (stucnsf)
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To: aloppoct
My wife is from there. They have lost almost their entire middle class (3 million),in a country that was about 32 million three years ago.

My son's wife also. They took a trip there about 3 years ago. There was a huge line around the grocery store. My son asked someone in line what was happening. He said the store just got a shipment of toilet paper! Has only gotten worse.

42 posted on 08/20/2018 2:50:09 PM PDT by FatherofFive (Islam is EVIL and needs to be eradicated)
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To: NRx

You know, the barrel of oil they soon won’t be able to get out of the ground.


43 posted on 08/20/2018 3:40:05 PM PDT by headstamp 2 (My "White Privilege" is my work ethic.)
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To: NRx
This is like the degenerate gambler. He's bet his paycheck, hocked the wedding ring, put up the car , the savings, the kids college fund and the car. He's lost it all. The last thing he's got is the house and here it goes. One more roll of the dice. “C’mom baby show me a winner!’’ as he throws for the last time.
44 posted on 08/20/2018 3:53:18 PM PDT by jmacusa (Made it Ma, top of the world!'')
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To: GrandJediMasterYoda

Miss Zanti Misfit.


45 posted on 08/20/2018 3:56:26 PM PDT by jmacusa (Made it Ma, top of the world!'')
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To: Moonman62

Hope springs eternal.
Sometimes the sucker birth rate has trouble keeping up.


46 posted on 08/20/2018 5:28:46 PM PDT by HangThemHigh (Entropy is not what it used to be.)
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To: Moonman62

I’m a gold guy, though of late it’s silver that’s been looking rather attractive. I just ordered a couple hundred ounces this afternoon from JM Bullion. They were having what looked like a fire sale on some generic Indian head 1 oz rounds at just shy of 50 cents over spot.


47 posted on 08/20/2018 5:30:47 PM PDT by NRx (A man of integrity passes his father's civilization to his son, without selling it off to strangers.)
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To: SaveFerris

I have no objection to a global currency... as long as it’s either gold or silver.


48 posted on 08/20/2018 5:32:08 PM PDT by NRx (A man of integrity passes his father's civilization to his son, without selling it off to strangers.)
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To: Eleutheria5

Communists are imperialists too.

So are islamists.

But academics only rail against Western imperialism.


49 posted on 08/20/2018 5:33:53 PM PDT by a fool in paradise
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To: NRx

Just checking... If the Petro crypto-currency is worth a maximum of 6 billion, does that mean that Venezuela is really just for sale now for, well, to be quite honest, a pretty good bargain. 6 billion for all that South American land, some pretty sound government buildings, a military which somehow isn’t utterly corrupt yet, and about 29 billion in US and foreign oil investments that were taken by the nation.

Buy it out and set up a large area of it as a processing facility for every illegal caught. The daily flights alone should help the local economy there, plus there’d pretty much always be a free ride out of the country for those who are sick of socialism...


50 posted on 08/20/2018 6:08:36 PM PDT by kingu (Everything starts with slashing the size and scope of the federal government.)
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To: Slyfox

Using Bitcoin would definitely help any Venezuelan as long as they didn’t buy them at the peak last December. But Maduro’s new crypto sounds like it is being premined and sold. That’s almost always a scam from the start, but with Maduro doing it, it is guaranteed to be a scam.


51 posted on 08/20/2018 7:11:04 PM PDT by palmer (...if we do not have strong families and strong values, then we will be weak and we will not survive)
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To: palmer

My Venezuelan friends are dealing in Bitcoin outside Maduro’s view.


52 posted on 08/20/2018 7:37:43 PM PDT by Slyfox (Not my circus, not my monkeys)
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To: a fool in paradise

Of course. It actually benefits the countries effected.


53 posted on 08/21/2018 12:11:05 AM PDT by Eleutheria5 (“If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism.)
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To: Moonman62
If you want to convert your dollars to gold, you can.

I have some dollars that state that printed directly on them.

Yeah; they ARE quite old ones!

All my new ones merely say "THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE"

54 posted on 08/21/2018 4:06:12 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: NRx

DEFINITION of 'Lawful Money'

Lawful money is any form of currency issued by the United States Treasury, and not the Federal Reserve System. It includes gold and silver coins, Treasury notes, and Treasury bonds. Lawful money stands in contrast to fiat money, in which the government assigns value although it has no intrinsic value of its own and is not backed by reserves. Fiat money includes legal tender such as paper money, checks, drafts and bank notes.
 

BREAKING DOWN 'Lawful Money'

The dollar bills that we carry around in our wallets are not considered lawful money. The notation on the bottom of a U.S. dollar bill reads "Legal Tender for All Debts, Public and Private", and is issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve, not the U.S. Treasury. Legal tender can be exchanged for an equivalent amount of lawful money, but macro-effects such as inflation can change the value of fiat money. Lawful money is said to be the most direct form of ownership, but for purposes of practicality it has little use in direct transactions between parties. 

 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lawfulmoney.asp




55 posted on 08/21/2018 4:12:06 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Elsie
AHHhh…


The Good Ol' Days!!



There used to be an equivalence between Lawful Money and Legal Tender



56 posted on 08/21/2018 4:16:31 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Elsie
 
 
 
 
 
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fiatmoney.asp

57 posted on 08/21/2018 4:25:06 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Elsie

If you don’t want yours please send them to me. I still believe.


58 posted on 08/21/2018 4:27:17 AM PDT by Flag_This (Liberals are locusts.)
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To: Flag_This

You want the tokens and houses; too?


59 posted on 08/21/2018 4:36:24 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Elsie

Really? I’ll give you two on the right for every one you have on the left.


60 posted on 08/21/2018 4:37:07 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Give a man a fish and he'll be a Democrat. Teach a man to fish and he'll be a responsible citizen.)
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