Bitcoin now becoming a national threat?
Blame it on Bitcoin
How convenient.
This is one of the world’s most dangerous places to mine bitcoin
- Thousands of Venezuelans are secretly mining bitcoin for their economic survival, and for many that means risking jail time.
- Mining cryptocurrency is completely legal in Venezuela, yet police have been arresting miners.
- Cryptocurrency mining uses an enormous amount of electricity. Venezuela heavily subsidizes electricity, so when police notice a spike in someone’s power consumption, they go after them.
Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have long been seen as a risky investment, but in places like Venezuela, they can also be dangerous.
Thousands of Venezuelans have turned to secretly mining the digital currency — which is closing in on a record high near $5,000 — for their economic survival, and for many that means risking jail time.
Venezuela was once the richest country in South America, but it’s now in crisis. It stands at the brink of civil war. Deadly protests paralyze city centers. It’s the world’s most indebted country, and its GDP has collapsed. Food and basic necessities are scarce, people arerationing toothpaste and toilet paper, and there are even reports of hungry Venezuelans killing flamingos and anteaters for food.
The country’s future economic picture looks just as bleak. It already has the highest inflation rate on the planet. The International Monetary Fund expects prices in Venezuela to rise more than 1,100 percent this year.
Venezuela’s currency — the bolivar — is in free fall. Going against black market rates, it’s lost 99.4 percent of its value since 2012. But bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies are insulated from all that. They’re fully decentralized so they’re immune to what’s happening in any one country — regardless of where they’re mined. And that’s why Venezuelans have turned to mining.
Venezuela’s underground cryptocurrency miners
In the cryptocurrency world, miners use computers to do the bookkeeping for digital transactions, verifying them and adding them to a public ledger. When someone mines, they earn digital currency as a payment for their efforts. It’s been a lifeline for people like “Brother,” a nickname used by an individual who lives just outside Caracas, who only agreed to speak to CNBC on condition of anonymity.
The 29-year-old father initially got into mining because his $43 monthly salary from his government job wasn’t enough to support the baby girl he and his wife had on the way. That’s when he decided to start illegally using computers in his government office to mine. He has since quit his job and now mines using his own equipment from home.
“Because of my daughter, I didn’t think of it as a risk to what could happen to me in the company. I have to take the risk for her. I have to do this for her,” says Brother.
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Full article : CNBC.com, This is one of the world’s most dangerous places to mine bitcoin