The New Currency Movement

In this week’s Letter, Ivan Lo simplifies the Cyprus crisis, talks about the greatest economic experiment in our modern era, Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, and talks about other countries and states joining the gold repatriation movement.

The Strongest Currency: Up 1,439,900%

Nearly two years ago, Bruce Wagner, organizer of New York’s Bitcoin developer’s meet-up, told Forbes that, “Someday (Bitcoin) will probably have the Fed scrambling…They still don’t know what Twitter is. By the time they figure this out, it will have already taken hold.”

On Thursday, the value of one Bitcoin hit an all-time high of US$72, up 84% from just two weeks ago on news of the Cyprus bailout. That means there is over US$800 million worth of Bitcoin in circulation. It also means that since Bitcoin was introduced, the value of a Bitcoin has gone up 1,439,900%.

Bruce Wagner was right. Not only has the value of a Bitcoin increased exponentially, the Fed is beginning to scramble. Virtual currencies have garnered so much attention that even regulators are now taking notice as earlier this week the Treasury Department said it is applying money-laundering rules to so-called virtual currencies.

They say virtual currencies such as Bitcoins could become a haven for criminal activity. An FBI report last year revealed that at least one online service accepts Bitcoins in exchange for illegal drugs. I guess no one buys drugs with dollars anymore…

The recent media explosion of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin brings to light that people around the world are truly beginning to lose faith in central bank controlled paper money. When you have money that can be printed from thin air, stored in government controlled banking systems that can impose bailout taxes on your savings, it would be stupid not to look for alternative ways to protect your savings and wealth.

I am not writing about Bitcoin because I am promoting it. As a matter of fact, I don’t. I still don’t trust my wealth and security to open-source software codes or virtual currencies – even if they return me 1,439,900%. Perhaps if I had invested some dollars in Bitcoin years ago, I may be singing a different tune. However, Bitcoin already glitched earlier this month which caused the currency’s value to briefly plummet 23% before recovering.

Do you know what alternative currency doesn’t glitch and is being hoarded by central banks around the world?

Gold Hoarding Intensifies

With the recent media frenzy surrounding Cyprus, Bernanke’s announcement of continued QE, and Japan’s upcoming massive stimulus increases, gold’s value should only rise.

As I mentioned in “The Coming Shockwave,” countries around the world engaged in the race to devalue have been big purchasers of gold because they know they need to protect themselves from their own currency.

In January, I talked about Germany requesting their gold back from the U.S and France. Now it seems the Swiss want to do the same.

According to Swissinfo:

“A right-wing group has submitted more than 106,000 signatures to the federal authorities, seeking a vote on stopping the sale of gold reserves held by the Swiss National Bank (SNB). It also wants gold bars stored in the US to be returned.

The group, led by members of the Swiss People’s Party, the far-right Swiss Democrats and the Lega dei Ticinesi movement, is confident a nationwide vote will be called on the issue once the signatures are verified. A date still has to be set by the government.

People’s Party parliamentarian Luzi Stamm criticised the sale of gold reserves which started 13 years ago following a decision to abandon the gold standard.

“Gold reserves guarantee the stability of the Swiss franc. They ensure that that private savings, salaries, pension keep their value,” Stamm said.

He warned gold must not be the object of speculation for the SNB or for politicians.

The initiative also seeks to enshrine in the constitution a clause obliging the central bank to keep a minimum of 20 per cent of its assets in gold, twice the current level. Promoters say higher gold reserves will boost the SNB’s credibility. In addition, they want to force the government to disclose where the gold reserves are stored.

An important part of the reserves are kept in the United States, according to People’s Party parliamentarian Lukas Reimann. He doubts whether the heavily indebted country can be trusted with the Swiss gold.

“It is only in safe hands if it is kept in Switzerland,” he told journalists.”

Back on June 2011, in my Letter, “The Greatest War in History,” I mentioned that many US states were beginning to introduce precious metals as legal tender.

Now it appears that some states also want their gold back.

Texas Rep. Giovanni Capriglione now has a bill in play that would move the state’s gold from New York to a depository within the state of Texas itself.

Via the Texas Tribune:

“Freshman Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, is carrying a bill that would establish the Texas Bullion Depository, a secure state-based bank to house $1 billion worth of gold bars owned by the University of Texas Investment Management Company, or UTIMCO, and currently stored by the Federal Reserve.

“…We’re trying to figure out the right amount of gold to have here in Texas,” Capriglione said. “We don’t want just the certificates. We want our gold. And if you’re the state of Texas, you should be able to get your gold.”

Meanwhile, Argentines are buying more gold than ever to protect their savings from the fastest inflation in the Western Hemisphere.

According to Bloomberg, Banco de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina’s only bank offering gold bullion coins and bars to investors and savers is negotiating with mining companies to purchase gold direct because there is so much demand.

It’s estimated that prices in Argentina are rising 26 percent a year and Argentines are using gold to protect their wealth because buying the buying of US dollar has been banned since last year.

One Argentine, as Bloomberg reported, bought gold a year ago and is already up nearly half as a result of a devaluing Argentine peso.

So while the world watches the paper market of gold being manipulated, the physical world continues to explode.

It’s catch up time.

End Notes

The new Equedia.com and sister site is taking just a little longer than expected. We should see the changes take effect later next week, so don`t be surprised to see some major differences.

Again, I will update everyone on these changes in better detail in next week`s Letter.

Until next week,

Ivan Lo

Equedia Weekly

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