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Venezuela’s failed cryptocurrency experiment
Fighting hyperinflation with a state-backed cryptocurrency. What could possibly go wrong?
What happens when an authoritarian regime that controls every aspect of an economy creates a currency based on decentralization, free movement, and transparency? This is the explosive true story behind the world's first state-backed cryptocurrency.
A country-wide crypto experiment gone wrong
<p>How many state governments do you know who'd put their faith in a <a href="https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/what-is-cryptocurrency" target="_blank">cryptocurrency</a> to level out hyperinflation and stop nation-wide riots? Not many, probably. And yet, that's exactly what Venezuala did to reinvigorate its economy amid<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/garthfriesen/2018/08/07/the-path-to-hyperinflation-what-happened-to-venezuela/?sh=651b564d15e4" target="_blank"> financial carnage</a>. Truthfully though, they didn't do too many of the hard yards. Instead, they supported entrepreneur Gabriel Jimenez to create the petro (₽), or petromoneda – the world's first state-backed cryptocurrency.</p> <p>But as you can expect, when an authoritarian regime meets tech based on decentralization, there will be fireworks. As part of Tomorrow Unlocked's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x77aEP9hs4U&list=PLCIzhnLJonIZVYIc4m_LwQIOfCO_W36Eb&ab_channel=TomorrowUnlocked" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coded series three</a>, (<a href="https://www.freethink.com/shows/coded/season-3/venezuela-cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">now launching on Freethink</a>) episode four focuses on entrepreneur and crypto-expert Gabriel Jimenez's journey from national hero to enemy of the state. Brace yourself for this one. </p>- Crypto scam on Discord uses fake news websites | Kaspersky ... ›
- How scammers lure Discord users to a fake cryptocurrency ... ›
With lockdown policies in place in most countries due to the Corona pandemic our impact on the environment becomes more apparent each day. With people isolating at home, not travelling, and planes staying on the ground nature seems to recover from pollution: clear canals in Venice, reduced air pollution in China and major cities all over the world, and a fallen global carbon emission. Still, climate change has not stopped, with a record heatwave in Antarctica, which has impacts on all of our planet's climate, and countries like Germany, which are usually blessed with a lot of rain, facing droughts. Realizing how our own actions can positively or negatively affect our environment is a wakeup call for everyone, as we cannot deny the positive impacts of the lockdown on our environment. So, as the official motto of Earth Day 2020 is climate action, we want to discover what technologies may help us in stopping climate change and creating a better future.