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posted by CoolHand on Monday June 19 2017, @08:07PM   Printer-friendly
from the cyber-rich dept.

Venezuelans flock to BTC, the digital currency as inflation has spiraled to the triple digits, debasing the the venezuelan currency, the bolivar (VEF) and depleting savings. Citizens struggle to find everything from food to medicine on store shelves. Ryan Taylor, chief executive officer of crypto currency Dash Core says "If you're going to be in something volatile, you might as well be in something that's volatile and rising than volatile and falling,". Crypto currency Dash Core is the third-largest digital coin by number of transactions. Bitcoin (BTC) trading volume in Venezuela jumped to 1.3 million US$ this week, about double the amount that changed hands two months ago, according to LocalBitcoins.com.

Venezuela's currency has become nearly worthless in the black market, where it takes more than 6000 bolivars (VEF) to buy 1 US$, while bitcoin surged 53% in May-2017 alone. But it's not just about shielding against the falling bolivar, as some Venezuelans are using crypto currencies to buy and sell everyday goods and services, according to Jorge Farias, the CEO of Cryptobuyer.

For those desiring a faster transaction time the crypto currency Ethereum exists with an average block settling time of 14 seconds since April 2016 according to themerkle.com.

Venezuela has 47e9 m³ in proven oil reserves, more than any other nation in the world. So now the only thing missing is to start the sale of oil using crypto currencies so that a military intervention can be justified..

All this happens while since at least 2014, hundreds of thousands of citizens have protested high levels of criminal violence, corruption, hyperinflation, and chronic scarcity of basic goods, arrest of opposition leaders, laws to force citizens to work in agricultural fields and farms for 60 days or longer, 40 inmates dismembered and consumed three fellow inmates, 200 prison riots in Venezuela in 2016 and so on. Tourist hotels probably have an all time low now for that super bargain..


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:39AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 20 2017, @12:39AM (#528251)

    Actually Norway is doing well. The difference to Sweden is that their public figures and media will discuss problems and take action, even if the politicians are slow to act. They have a sense to protect the nation from threats due to being a occupied territory in the past. Oh, and they have the money to push through their decisions. They are also a lot more nationalistic than Sweden, in fact both the labor party and the conservatives of Norway got voted out in favor of a very mild nationalistic party.

    For citizens the problems are more practical right now. In Oslo the eastern parts are filled with a lot of dysfunctional elements. So for parents it pays to give some attention to the ratio of natives vs dysfunctionals. Then there's the violence in the parts of the city filled with dysfunctionals in the form of robberies, drug dealing, fighting and rape. It seems cities outside of the capital have magnitudes less of dysfunctionals.

    People need to understand that even if many countries in Europe are way smaller than many US states. They are vastly different in values and political circumstances. Which is why cooperation may work and federation is more or less doomed.

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