Trump Bans Venezuela's New National Cryptocurrency (cnbc.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: President Donald Trump issued an executive order Monday banning any transactions within the United States involving any digital currency issued by, for, or on behalf of the Government of Venezuela. The order applies to U.S. citizens as well as anyone within the United States, and includes cryptocurrency issued on or after January 9. President Trump's order is in response to recent attempts by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime to "circumvent U.S. sanctions by issuing a digital currency," the White House said in a statement. Venezuela launched its oil-backed cryptocurrency in February to help pull the country out of a continuing economic crisis. President Maduro said each petro token will be backed by one barrel of the state's national petroleum. Maduro also said roughly 100 million tokens would be issued -- estimated to be worth around $6 billion. Bitcoin prices dropped about $200 to around $8,388, according to Coinbase, following the order.

Comments

Does Dear Leader

[Anonymous Coward]

Have the authority to do this? Like Obama the executive branch keeps getting more and more audacious with these executive orders.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[Anonymous Coward]

No, he does not. He can ban it from the government, but he has zero authority to tell individuals or companies what they can and can't accept as payment for goods or services.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[omnichad]

I'm going to say no. He's not telling the government what to do. He's trying to make something illegal (aka against the law).

He's trying to cite emergency powers:

International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)

And I think it would be awfully hard to call this a national emergency for us. On the other hand, it was Barack Obama that called it an emergency, and this new executive order merely cites it: https://www.federalregister.go...

So yes, these executive orders are getting out of hand.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[GrumpySteen]

The embargo of trade with Cuba was initiated by an executive order, so there's strong precedence for it.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[omnichad]

Both "sides" appear to like it. This was handed from Obama to Trump and both have some severe overstep on executive orders. In either case, I've disliked any sort of unchecked power in government - and executive orders were supposed to be part of the checks and balances against legislative power (mostly regarding selective enforcement of the law - which is an executive branch privilege).

Re: Does Dear Leader

[orlanz]

In this case, yes. There are already sanctions in place. The executive is responsible for enforcing them.

As Venezuela is trying to bypass them, he is responsible for and authorized to curtail those workarounds.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[Applehu Akbar]

Have the authority to do this? Like Obama the executive branch keeps getting more and more audacious with these executive orders.

In particular, does this mean that we can no longer gas up at Citgo stations?

Re:Does Dear Leader

[PrimaryConsult]

The executive branch enforces the laws. Unless there exists a law that violating this ban would also infringe, someone with enough money to see this through court can get it blocked or overturned.

Of course Joe Blow in his basement buying some crypto-bolivars (or whatever) would have no ability to stop the SS* from dragging him from his home, shooting his dog, and destroying his computers...

As in Secret Service, who deals with currency related issues, but pun partially intended.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[LynnwoodRooster]

Per executive order 13692, you cannot send any property to Venezuela. The IRS considers cryptocurrencies as property. Thus trading - sending or buying - in Venezuelan crypto is not legal. Unless, of course, the underlying executive order is illegal - but that's not been determined yet.

Based on the above, it is quite clear that President Trump didn't add anything new, just explicitly listed Venezuela's cryptocurrency as banned - which it already was, per the earlier EO and existing IRS statutes.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[Anonymous Coward]

Precisely, he has the authority to prohibit US banks from doing business with any person or oganizaion that does business with corrupt Venezuelan officials. This ban is not only well within his authority, but consistent with the intent of the legislation directing the economic embargo against the Venezuelan dicator and his cronies.

Re: Does Dear Leader

[HiThere]

If he enforced it the way you are indicating, then I suspect there'd be a lot less criticism. As it is this looks like political bullying.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[HiThere]

IIUC the US has officially been under emergency powers since sometime during WWII. I never heard that they were repealed, and I believe that they were implemented without a sunset clause.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[ancientt]

Stupid executive orders are good for the long term goal of freedom. Stupid executive orders get challenged in court, overturned and as a result, they create a sort of self regulating system. More stupid executive orders getting made means more of them getting overturned by the courts. The result is that fewer stupid executive orders will happen in the future.

I hope.

The cynic in me has to note that stupid people get power and stupid people support it. It's hard to trust that stupidity will limit itself.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[ancientt]

The president is supposed to have some control over the enforcement of laws. That makes sense because the president has the authority to determine how the budget is spent (or not spent) and to pardon people who have been convicted of breaking the law. In theory, the president could pardon everyone convicted of breaking a law that he/she disagreed with.

When the president says "we order this" what it should always mean is that the law either supports his/her desire and he/she is deciding to spend budget money on it, or the law is against his/her desire and he/she is deciding to not spend budget money on it or is granting a pardon to anyone who breaks said law.

This seems to be a case of the president saying a law should be enforced that most citizens wouldn't have known was even in existence. I have some doubts as to how effective an attempt to enforce it will be, but thanks to /., I am better informed about the laws supporting it than I would have been otherwise.

Sidenote: I'm trying to be open minded with the "he/she" bit, but it's a nuisance to type. Nothing else works, so I'm about to go back to just typing "he" for convenience despite recognizing the possibility that it could apply to a "she" just as well in the future.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[omnichad]

This seems to be a case of the president saying a law should be enforced that most citizens wouldn't have known was even in existence

No, it's not. The law that's in existence gives the president emergency powers during a national emergency to enact things like this. It's definitely in existence and used to great effect. It was used 6 times between 1977 and 2000. All but one of those is easily obvious in matching the intent and scope of the law. In the last 18 years, it's been used 22 more times. The validity of the "national emergency" in question on most of those is very doubtful.

The point, though, is that this isn't the president using his enforcement powers. It's declaring a false "national emergency" to claim power that they should have no rights to. And emergency powers tend to go beyond the law because it's supposed to be a temporary emergency where congress would act too slowly to ensure the safety of the American people. And yet this national emergency in question was declared in 2015 by our former president. 3 years is quite a while for a temporary emergency with no perceivable threat to national security.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[rtb61]

I reckon he has a global fiscal authority, might be more peaceful if the US gets to be the core of a global energy futures crypto currency, no need for energy wars, global transaction currency solved, tied individual to national currencies and in turn the energy those countries are capable of supplying or the goods and services to buy that energy. A global transaction market, no competitors allowed. Then again it might be just a useful if they weren't, little be rougher but still the same largely conflict free market in the end (that might be a better way of defining the free market a 'a conflict free, market', probably more sensible too).

Re:Does Dear Leader

[Anonymous Coward]

Since 1979 under Jimmy Carter. The ones FDR put in place have expired. They all have to be renewed yearly and there are something like 30 of them in place. Long story short the president can declare a national emergency for really anything he wants. Its just a BS loop hole to subvert our system of government and you can thank the lazy inept Congress critters who failed us and our country. They are being used currently to do everything from the war on drugs, illegal detention and torture of terrorists, forced active duty of some 20,000 national guardsman, and lots more lovely things. Under the loop hole (if you actually believe it to be valid) the president could "legally" turn the US into the same style government as North Korea. That probably wouldn't happen now because the armed forces and the armed citizens would revolt but it would be "legal". None of these national emergency laws actually supersede the constitution but our government has been treating them like they do since the 70s. All of this I thought was chem trail crazy until I recently researched it and...well I was surprised.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/10/22/president-obama-states-of-emergency/16851775/

Re:Does Dear Leader

[thegarbz]

Like Obama the executive branch keeps getting more and more audacious with these executive orders.

You mean like how Obama has issued the lowest number of executive orders of any president in the past 125 years (corrected for length of sitting term)?

Re:Does Dear Leader

[DamnOregonian]

Trump actually first prohibited Americans from dealing in a whole list of financial instruments tied to the Venezuelan government back in August. This particular order has almost identical text, only specifically targeting the cryptocurrency.
The law specifically requires such emergencies to be extended annually, or they sunset.. Interestingly enough, The order was renewed in 2016, and 2017, but not 2018... Technically speaking, this order may not be legal, since as far as I can tell, the state of emergency ended on January 13, 2018. Of course he could fix that with another continuing order...

Re: Does Dear Leader

[DamnOregonian]

Also horseshit. Executive orders were created so that there was a formal way to issue direction to the Federal Government. They do not make law, they are not above the law. Of course, should an order be illegal, you're welcome to argue against whatever jackbooted thugs the government sends at your ass until you get your day in court to have the order struck down, so there's certainly an element of de facto law creation, until it's struck down.

This order, like all other orders, cite the laws that empower the President to issue the order. Congress already has the check in place, and Trump's administration is following the rules, minus the small procedural problem of he may have let the state of emergency sunset this January because his administration is fucking inept. But that can be fixed easily enough with another order.

Re: Does Dear Leader

[bluefoxlucid]

Sure. Economic sanctions. That power to force good men and women at the bottom end of poverty to suffer, starve, and die, despite having done nothing, because some of the dear leaders in their country haven't danced to your tune.

Did you want terrorists? Because this is how you get terrorists.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[omnichad]

It's still not a valid "national emergency." Renewed or not, this is a presidential power that has been granted too much overreach with no oversight. The order in August is just as bad. As is the original declaration of emergency by Obama in 2015. Being able to declare just about anything an "emergency" in order to have dictatorial powers is just plain fundamentally against the nature of our government's design. I could only hope that this is the last straw that finally gets attention at the issue, but it's unlikely.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[DamnOregonian]

It has complete oversight... This power is enumerated by statute. It was given to the president, and they are free to remove it. The fact is, the Congress agrees with its use.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[omnichad]

Whether congress agrees has nothing to do with it. The fact that it was enacted without any oversight provisions makes it de facto unconstitutional. The fact that it lets the executive branch effectively act as the legislative branch during peacetime is also the same.

Re:Does Dear Leader

[DamnOregonian]

The fact that it was enacted without any oversight provisions makes it de facto unconstitutional

You either don't know what de facto means, or you're not familiar with the structure of the US government, as laid out in the Constitution.
The Congress is absolutely free to empower the President to prohibit things. Are you trying to claim that all regulations under the control of regulatory agencies (The Executive branch) are unconstitutional? I think you need to go back to school, buddy.

Re:What about Russia's chemical attack on England

[Rakarra]

Russia attacked a NATO country and Donald Trump is still sucking Vladimir Putin's dick.

Lock this traitor up right fucking now.

The US issued sanctions as a result of the polonium assassination, it might issue more in response to this.
This particular action is in response to Venezuela's attempt to circumvent existing sanctions.

/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[UnknownSoldier]

This is retarded. "Banning" cryptocurrency is akin to trying to ban Math. Yeah, good luck with that.

Hypothetical: So if I "own" Venezuelan cryptocoin will I be hauled off to jail ???

Hypothetical: If I leave the U.S., say go visit Canada, can I then "buy" Venezuelan cryptocoins?

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[DontBeAMoran]

"The order applies to U.S. citizens as well as anyone within the United States."

So no, you cannot legally buy Venezuelan cryptocoins, ever. Trump said so!

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[subanark]

This is not a "pure" cryptocurrency. Each unit is backed by a barrel of oil. It can only be created by Venezuela. The crypto part simply is a way of transferring it.

In short, you can't mine it and you pretty much have to obtain it from Venezuela government directly or indirectly.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[omnichad]

"Banning" cryptocurrency is akin to trying to ban Math. Yeah, good luck with that.

Banning math is not exactly new.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[HornWumpus]

Trump is giving it more credibility than it deserves.

It should just sink without a glug. Would you buy currency from this nation at their exchange rate?

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[omnichad]

legally

Funny word you chose. Now cite the law in question.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[mi]

It is fairly common for /.-ers to not bother reading TFA. But the answers to your "sarcastic" questions are right there in the write-up — you didn't have to click away to read them...

So if I "own" Venezuelan cryptocoin will I be hauled off to jail ???

The executive order bans transactions — not ownership. If you own it, you aren't subject to any punishment until you try to sell it.

If I leave the U.S., say go visit Canada, can I then "buy" Venezuelan cryptocoins?

If you are a US citizen, you will be violating the order — and become subject to whatever punishment prescribed. Not very different from the ban on travel to Cuba, for example — it was illegal, but people did manage to get away with it.

Perhaps more importantly is why would you seek to circumvent this one... Maduro's government is even more stupid and evil than Chavez' was — and Chavez managed to not only destroy Venezuela's economy, the rate of murders and rapes quadrupled during the first 15 years of his rein (even before oil price tanked). Are you just as critical about US sanctions against Russia?..

If, as I suspect, you are motivated simply by the desire to "stick it" to Trump, I urge you to move to Venezuela permanently...

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[jwhyche]

I'm not exactly certain that Lord Trump can tell me what I can and can't spend my money on. Last time I checked Congress made the laws, not the office of the President.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[bgrahambo]

Typical comment section troll; has no idea of the contents that he's commenting on. As all other executive orders do, this executive order lists the laws cited in the first paragraph: "By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,"

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[Raul654]

Congress already gave him the authority: 50 U.S. Code  1701 and 50 U.S. Code  1702

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[omnichad]

That makes him able to make an executive order. It doesn't make it a law or any American's actions illegal. Obama calling Venezuala's situation a "national emergency" for us is highly questionable - and from there, that makes anything predicated on that really shaky to start with.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[Anonymous Coward]

(A) Asset blocking.—The exercise of all powers granted to the President by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property of a person determined by the President to be subject to subsection (a) if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.

There's an entire part about Venezula. I guess this is above board.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[PrimaryConsult]

Why is AC being downmodded - Trump can't even get the courts to allow things he *is* allowed to regulate, like immigration. Nothing about this is an emergency - Venezuela isn't going to take the pennies Americans might throw at their new currency and build WMDs with it. If there's fear that the new currency will somehow take away our stranglehold on the price of oil, banning it from America will do fuck all to stop the global markets from using it anyway.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[PrimaryConsult]

Perhaps more importantly is why would you seek to circumvent this one... Maduro's government is even more stupid and evil [elpais.com] than Chavez' was

One valid reason to want to put your hat in the ring is if it actually goes somewhere, getting in on the ground floor can make you a lot of money. Evil can be profitable, and for those that do not believe in some form of karma, afterlife, or divine punishment, there's no logical reason to not take advantage provided any potential punishment is outweighed by the profit. See: the premise of Breaking Bad.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[LynnwoodRooster]

Per the EO, if you owned the Venezuelan cryptocoin before January 9th, 2018 - you can keep owning. If you trade it, sell it, give it away, or purchase more - you're in trouble.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[AHuxley]

Its like banning banking. No new cash flows to a failed nation.
Cryptocurrency is just another way of sneaking in new funding.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[losfromla]

True. However, because it's tied to oil (unlike bitcoin which is tied to nothing), isn't the upside potential only ever the price of a barrel of oil? I'm not too bullish on oil long term, though I admit others might have good reasons for feeling that there is nowhere to go but up with oil... So, unfair though it might be, because this petro-coin is tied to something tangible, its value might be very limited.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[ancientt]

Ideally you'd invest in it right before POTUS brings it to everyone's attention then dump it right after.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[LynnwoodRooster]

Here you go:

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that prohibits transactions inside the U.S. that involve “any digital currency, digital coin or digital token” issued by the Venezuelan government after January 9.

Transactions do NOT include previous ownership. If you owned it prior to January 9th, you can keep it - you just can't trade, exchange, or redeem it.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[DamnOregonian]

Awfully snarky of you. The law is right there in the order. I'm not even a Trump supporter, but there is nothing even remotely fishy about this order. There are literally a couple dozen of orders under this statute in place.

I shouldn't have to do this, but I will anyway.
https://www.treasury.gov/resou... Enjoy.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[DamnOregonian]

AC is being downmodded because AC is ignorant and has no idea what he is talking about. So, apparently, are the people who moderated you.

Where Congress empowers a President to declare an action prohibited or not (which they do in hundreds of aspects of American life) he has that power. In this case, they did, and he did. All's happy and legal. Nothing weird here. Just ignorant people on Slashdot who bitch and moan and call names, too stupid to learn the system, and therefor too stupid to fix it.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[radarskiy]

There are 30 states of emergency in effect at the federal level. Take your pick.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[Cederic]

The wording you quoted says nothing about ownership, it says you can't transact in a currency that was issued after 9th January.

Isn't 9th January when Venezuela announced and issued the digital currency? You can't own it before then because it didn't exist.

If you bought some last week then according to the sentence you quoted you're in the clear, but I haven't read the actual executive order.

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[bluefoxlucid]

Chavez managed to not only destroy Venezuela's economy

What are economic sanctions for?

Re:/sarcasm Let's ban Math while we are at it !

[LynnwoodRooster]

The wording you quoted says nothing about ownership, it says you can't transact in a currency that was issued after 9th January.

Correct. And in the US, if something is not prohibited by law, it is implicitly legal. There is probably no law that says you can walk from your front door to your car, does that make you guilty of a crime?

Debt

[SmaryJerry]

If someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understood from a previous article, the Venezuelan government is not allowed to issue debt on their oil by even their own laws. But by issuing cryptocurrency it is essentially selling notes exchangeable for oil they can't provide (so basically debt). That is an interesting thought about what cryptocurrency is really. We know regular currency is basically debt exchangeable for goods, so cryptocurrency is the same but where is the value of crytocurrency coming from? Basically all large companies stopped accepting bitcoin and even dark markets are switching their coin from bitcoin because it is too traceable.. I just don't see how bitcoin is even maintaining it's current price because if you can't buy anything with it then what use is it? I guess does anyone know what you can still buy with bitcoin?

Re:Debt

[drinkypoo]

I just don't see how bitcoin is even maintaining it's current price because if you can't buy anything with it then what use is it? I guess does anyone know what you can still buy with bitcoin?

You can still trade bitcoin for legal currency, as long as you can find someone who wants your bitcoin. You know, like any kind of currency. It's good for moving money around the planet when the authorities don't want you to, but won't actually raise a finger to stop you. It doesn't hide the transaction, but it does make possible transactions which banks won't make.

Re:Debt

[angel'o'sphere]

Why would it be debt if you store one barrel of oil for each coin?

I just don't see how bitcoin is even maintaining it's current price because if you can't buy anything with it then what use is it?
Hae? That is a silly statement/question. You can nearly buy everything you want with bitcoin.

Re:Debt

[LynnwoodRooster]

That is a silly statement/question. You can nearly buy everything you want with bitcoin.

Really? I'm going to dinner tomorrow night at Mastro's Ocean Club. Can I pay for it with Bitcoin? How about my trip this coming weekend to Singapore - I'll be staying at some nice hotels, going to a trade show, I can pay for that with Bitcoin?

Re:Debt

[ancientt]

It comes from trust that it will be worth something when you go to spend it.

You can spend it on taxes. That's the real value. Sure the government backs it up with guns and tanks and such, but they only have so much ability to make people agree on how much goods and services are worth.

OTOH cryptocurrencies have exactly zero validity unless people agree to place value on them. I'm not sure which I trust more, governments or people.

Re:Debt

[ancientt]

Yes. They take VISA, aka you can spend Bitcoin there.

I got a card from Coinbase. Anywhere I can use a VISA, I can spend my cryptocurrency. My card by itself would be accepted most places in Singapore, and I could withdraw local currency as needed.

As for me personally? I actually couldn't pay for it with Bitcoin because I liquidated all my Bitcoin at a value maybe ten percent below it's current value, but I could pay for stuff with Bitcoin Cash ... not that what I have left would go very far.

I invested in Mt. Gox when it was still going strong, and lost all my investments in it when it crashed. I lost nearly seven dollars! I was mailed information about joining a class action lawsuit, but my cynicism in investing along with my laziness kept me from pursuing any compensation.

That's why I switched to Coinbase actually. I figured that I'd spend a fraction of my entertainment money playing in that system and trusted them more since they're governed by US law. As soon as I had the option to put my "investment" in an offline system, I went for it. When mainstream news started to talk about Bitcoin, I cashed out. I did well. $50,000 less than I would have made if I'd had two different decisions, but hey, when it's a two thousand percent gain or a near total loss, I feel like that was a good call. Honestly I wish I hadn't paid any attention at all and just stuck with the HODL approach, but as soon as my "investments" were worth more than dinner and a movie, I didn't have the risk tolerance real gamblers do.

That's my real takeaway from my experience. If you're lucky, and don't mind gambling real money, you can have a lot of fun with cryptocurrency. If you're not really a gambler (like me) then it's entertainment. If you're a real gambler... well you might make inconceivable fortunes if you're lucky, but you have to be willing to lose actual significant money and that's hard for me to empathize with.

Re:Debt

[angel'o'sphere]

Are you an idiot or what?

Obviously you can spent your bitcoins only at places that accept bitcoin ...

Why waste your time to make such a retarded post?

Re:Debt

[LynnwoodRooster]

So it never converts to US dollars? Really? I'm surprised at that...

Re:Debt

[LynnwoodRooster]

You can nearly buy everything you want with bitcoin.

You stated it. And yes, it was a retarded post. I have no idea why you claimed what you did...

Re:Debt

[angel'o'sphere]

Why don't you google for goods and services that accept bitcoin?
Hu?

Instead of playing stupid ...

Re:For Trump, socialism==bad...

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you seen what socialism has done to Venezuela, a country with vast energy natural resources per capita?
This is not a knee-jerk reaction.

Why give bucks

[DCFusor]

To a government who calls you Satan? OK. BuhBye.

Re:Why give bucks

[ancientt]

Really?

I've had plenty of paychecks signed by people who probably had abandoned any traces of morality. I've been on phone calls with customers who hated me and any concept I might have been associated with, but whose business supported my paycheck.

You're telling me that investing in a cryptocurrency might support some government I don't like? I couldn't care less. It might go against some hairy muppet in office? I actually could care less... if it goes against that moron's desires, it moves my give-a-damn-a-meter slightly towards inclined. Not enough to do anything significant, but enough to post on slashdot.

Here's the chance for you anti-Trump people to jump on a bandwagon. If you really want to make a statement, you need to invest in whatever he's against. Just give me a minute to click a couple buttons first.. okay, now.

Just kidding, I don't expect any rational response. I don't even trust the public to have a completely irrational response at this point.

The Tragedy of Venezuela

[Anonymous Coward]

Sargon does a good job of explaining the current status of Venezuela. If you're smart you won't buy their crypto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNjtpksJD4s&t=386s

Cryptocurrency market reaction

[JaredOfEuropa]

Bitcoin prices dropped about $200 to around $8,388, according to Coinbase, following the order.

Bitcoin prices fell way more than that the day before, because someone farted in a trading room I assume. And now they are going back up. This stuff's really volatile, a $200 price change is just noise.

Re:Cryptocurrency market reaction

[Drethon]

Just like news articles often post the stock market has dropped 400 points for reason x, and by the time the article is posted the market is up 200 points. Most movement in financial markets have a lot more factors than news articles usually account for.

Cryptocurrency finally becomes a self-parody

[The voice of Reason.]

A project that sprang from a motivation to eliminate the ability for central bankers to arbitrarily print money (by transferring the function of money creation to "the people") becomes the very tool used to facilitate it. Shockingly, It turns out that governments are members of the set called "the people." /s

Can someone explain to me why we have sactions

[rsilvergun]

on Venezuela while we help the Saudi's bomb Yemen? I get that they're government is sketchy, but we support something like 80% of the world's dictatorships. If we're trying to take the high ground on Democracy that boat has sailed, circumnavigated the globe and returned laden with exotic spice (joke shamelessly stolen from Yatzee of Zero Punctuation fame)

Re:Can someone explain to me why we have sactions

[losfromla]

Because there is a large military base and the bombs used to bomb Yemeni's from the stone age back into the stone age are 'murikan bombs, thus profit! We have a whole city there to support the bombing and that's all, profit! That is one reason we gleefully endorse the atrocities inflicted on an impoverished peoples by their very oil-wealthy neighbors. Oil!

Re:Can someone explain to me why we have sactions

[dwye]

We support bombing Shiite Yemeni, and when Sunni Yemeni get hit that is the unfortunate effects of war. If Iran had not paid the Shiites to try to take over Yemen, it would still warrant its Roman name of Arabica Felix (I think that is how they spelled it -- Happy Arabia, not Arabian Cat).

Re:Can someone explain to me why we have sactions

[losfromla]

Why is it ok to bomb Shiite Yemeni and not Sunni Yemeni? Are they not all humans who should be free to live their lives?

I find weird the lack of consistency too being that Osama Bin Laden was a Sunni Muslim and he was our enemy... What is that about? Do we hate both Sunni's and Shiites or does that vary by region? Also, why the big hard on for Iran? We destabilized their nation by installing a puppet ruler and now we're mad that they're trying to get their shit together? Nation-building is hard work, who'd have thought? Were our previous presidents as stupid as dt, just not so public about it?

Re:Can someone explain to me why we have sactions

[Uberbah]

Because to Trumps' supporters anything he does is great.

No change from his predecessor's sycophants. Obama was a particularly brazen liar, but it really took the cake when he said Venezuela was a threat to the United States to justify sanctioning the country. As for Yemen, Trump is just continuing where Obama left off.

Re:Congress made that law

[PrimaryConsult]

Just as you are supposed NOT to spend your money on goods sold by ISIS, you are not supposed to buy Venezuelan bonds, including the petro.

In that case I wonder why Citgo is still allowed to operate in the US. Oh yeah, because entrenched interests like it that way. Funny how calls of "national security" don't apply when influential people with large amounts of money stand to lose it...

Pressing Issues.

[Anonymous Coward]

Childrens lives threatened by gun violence..
Foreign manipulation of elections..
Healthcare..

NOPE... it's Venezuela!

LOLWUT!?!

Remember

[MrKaos]

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. - Gandhi

Re:Remember

[dwye]

Ask Adolf or Benny the Moose how that worked out for them.

Or ask any Indians, either Hindu or Islamic, how Partition worked out.

Re:Remember

[MrKaos]

Relax, it's an observation.

Re:Congress made that law

[jwhyche]

Funny how calls of "national security"

National security is a nice catch all phrase that they use when they want to do a end run around the law and strip you of your rights. Unless its about guns, then its "think of the children."

Re:For Trump, socialism==bad...

[losfromla]

Norway, Sweden, Finland. Germany, France, and Italy have socialist tendencies as well. Unchecked corporate greed gets you 'murika which is demonstrably bad for most.

Re:Congress made that law

[sysrammer]

These Lords you speak of...are they aristocratic like the House of Lords? Or tyrannical like the Sith Lords?

Re:What about Russia's chemical attack on England

[Khyber]

"Buy yourself a ticket and go fight Vlad yourself, you fuck."

You do realize that anyone doing this would automatically be committing an act of war on behalf of their home country, yes?

Re:For Trump, socialism==bad...

[LynnwoodRooster]

Capitalist economies with strong social nets (in particular, it's called the which is a free market, capitalistic economy with a strong social net. Same thing for Germany, etc. They are NOT socialist countries, which is "characterised by social ownership and democratic control of the means of production".

Re: What about Russia's chemical attack on England

[ancientt]

Breaking News, Trump bans fake currency that nobody uses. Declairs success.

Update: Trump denies any ties with campaign contributors who made a killing investing in a fake currency nobody had heard of before he talked about it and it's value doubled overnight.

Beating sick horses

[Tablizer]

Venezuela has enough problems already: leave them alone. The world is full of dictators, why focus on them?

What a waste of time

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is he trying to double the amount of EO's Obama wrote

Re: pssht! get with the 21st century gradpa!

[Type44Q]

South Korean Powered Armor... powered by North Koreans? (They're rather small, after all.)

Re:What about Russia's chemical attack on England

[Vinegar Joe]

Russia attacked a NATO country and Donald Trump is still sucking Vladimir Putin's dick.

I suggest you join the Army.

Re:For Trump, socialism==bad...

[Megol]

Fascist regimes can also be corrupt. Socialism in itself (whether that word really applies to Venezuela or not) isn't the problem.

The main problem is an authoritarian regime intent to keep control by any means, illegally enriching supporters and punishing others.

Re:For Trump, socialism==bad...

[Megol]

For some it's part of a magical incantation... Others use other "strong words" without knowing the meaning of them, fascist is a popular one.

Re:For Trump, socialism==bad...

[Megol]

So for you socialism is only the end-stage of Marxism? Hilarious!

Re:What about Russia's chemical attack on England

[mlw4428]

It'd be a war to help a US ally illegally invaded by Russia and as a check on recent Russian aggression including the use of nerve gas on British (an ally of ours) citizens. Your hostility and attempt to deflect the underlying reason for military action suggests you're politically motivated. Tell me, do you like Vodka and beating women and driving on your nation's sidewalks?

Re:Congress made that law

[dwye]

Most Citgo stations are privately owned, by Americans or legal American residents. Venezuela sold the vast majority years ago, probably in anticipating something like this order or its predecessors. Where they get their gas, now, I do not know, but it shouldn't be hard to find some from US refineries.

Any still owned by Venezuela would have been shut down during President Obama's term, by his executive orders.

Sorry, nothing to see here.

Re:What about Russia's chemical attack on England

[Khyber]

"The actions of a single private citizen, acting on their own initiative, would simply be criminal."

Not directly against Vlad or any other world leader, it would not be. Please try again when you've got the context actually locked down.

Re:Congress made that law

[jwhyche]

Or tyrannical like the Sith Lords?

Sometimes I would rather deal with Sith Lords. At least they are honest about their goals.

Re:For Trump, socialism==bad...

[LynnwoodRooster]

I'm going by what Wikipedia defines as socialism: "The economic and social systems characterised by social ownership and democratic control of the means of production". That doesn't sound like what happens in Scandinavia, does it? Do the people own all production, and there is a democratic control of that production? No?

No news

[NewYork]

Till China bans Venezuela's Cryptocurrency