Dr. Ron Paul: Global Asset Forfeiture

President Trump has signed a new Executive Order allowing the US government to freeze the US assets of individuals or corporations worldwide who are determined by the US Administration to have violated "human rights" or engaging in corruption. What about due process? What about jurisdiction?

- Source, Dr Ron Paul

Economic Worries Intensify As The World Currencies Change

Japan is now allowing their population to use cryptocurrency as payment. Bank of Canada worried about the economy, all private western central bank countries are using the same strategy to manipulate the economy, this will not end well. A professor has found the missing 21 trillion dollars, will not elaborate where the funds had gone.

- Source, X22 Report

Prominent Names Within the Crypto Space Abandon Ship, Cashing Out

Last week I penned an article about the history of Bitcoin and how the community around it has dramatically changed. This isn't just Bitcoin however, it is all Cryptos. In the beginning, as I discussed last week, the Bitcoin community was all about helping each other grow and prosper, it had its own micro economies and because of this it boomed.

Fast forward to today, and as I discussed in last week's article, the landscape is nothing like it once was. "Getting rich quick" topics are all the rage on Bitcointalk, and no longer can small businesses, even use Bitcoin as a form of payment, due to skyrocketing fees.

As I mentioned, this has led to a large number of the original veterans of the Crypto space, leaving all together, as the vision they once saw is long dead. Little did I know just a mere week ago, just how over the mark I was in this assessment.

The trend appears to be continuing and is now moving to high profile names within the Crypto space, with two in particular now cashing out of their cryptocurrency positions almost entirely.

The first is Charlie Lee, the founder of Bitcoins little brother, Litecoin. Litecoin is often referred to as Bitcoins silver and is thus heavily attached to the success of Bitcoin. This has caused Litecoin to skyrocket in value over the course of the year.

In fact, this time last year, it was trading at a mere $3.67 USD per Litecoin. Fast forward to today, where it is sitting at roughly $320 USD per Litecoin. A phenomenal gain of well over 9000% in less than one year!

You cannot blame Charlie Lee for cashing out, but what is shocking, is the fact that this has happened, given that Lee has been one of the biggest promoters and pushers of Litecoin in the past and how still, there are those stating that the price can never go down. A warning sign, noticed by any contrarian investor.

Charlie Lee of course had an explanation that had nothing to do with the parabolic rise of Litecoin, stating that he suddenly now believe his ownership of Litecoin to be a "conflict of interest". You can read his full reddit post here.

The second prominent figure to cash out of the cryptocurrency markets is the founder of the original Bitcoin.com website.

Emil Oldenburg, of Sweden has been a massive supporter of Bitcoin and it comes as a shock to many to learn that not only has he cashed out of Bitcoin, but is now dismissing it as a valid form of money. He even went as far as to state that Bitcoin is currently "the most risky investment a person can make".

During his interview with Breakit, Oldenburg goes on to explain why he sold out of his Bitcoin position, which will come as a surprise to many, but not myself, as it is exactly what I have been talking about in this article and preceding ones;

“It’s a group of fanatic bitcoin talibans who themselves do not use bitcoin everyday to want it like this. They see bitcoin like digital gold and a technical experiment, not something you should actually use. It will never be a currency used in everyday life or for people who run companies.”

The markets have simply not priced this in yet. The ones who had the foresight to be a part of Bitcoin from inception are sending up red flags and are even publicly stating that they are cashing out of their positions.

Yet, the price of Cryptos continues to trend higher. Perhaps these announcements will be looked back upon as the beginning of the top for Cryptos, perhaps not. Only time will tell, but what is certain is the fact that high profile names are taking notice of what I have been stating for close to half a year now, the community around Cryptos has dramatically shifted and changed. What sparked its meteoric rise is no longer in place and sadly, is likely never coming back.

- Source, As Originally Seen on the Sprott Money Blog

THE TOP? Litecoin Founder Cashes Out, Sells Entire Stake After 9300% Rally

Charlie Lee, the creator of the world’s fifth-biggest cryptocurrency, Litecoin, announced shortly after midnight that he was cashing in his profits after a torrid, 9,300% rally in the past 12 months. In a post on reddit, the San Francisco-based software engineer who founded litecoin in 2013, said that he sold and donated all of his holdings over the past few days.

"Litecoin has been very good for me financially, so I am well off enough that I no longer need to tie my financial success to Litecoin’s success. For the first time in 6+ years, I no longer own a single LTC that’s not stored in a physical Litecoin" Lee said in the post.

Lee explained that his liquidation was aimed at preventing a “conflict of interest” when the creator of what is known as "Bitcoin Silver" makes comments on twitter about the digital currency - something he tends to do with chronic zeal - that could influence its price, he said. That said, Lee declined to comment in the post on how many coins he sold or at what price, and asked readers to please "don’t ask me how many coins I sold or at what price. I can tell you that the amount of coins was a small percentage of GDAX’s daily volume and it did not crash the market."

Litecoin, which was trading at $3.67 on December 20, 2016, and $4.40 at the start of the year, has climbed 9,300% in the past 12 month. It tumbled on Wednesday, following most digital currencies lower after a flash crash in bitcoin after Coinbase announced it would finally transact in Bitcoin Cash which led to a brief avalanche of selling as traders repositioned.

However, Lee insisted in his post that his sale wasn’t a sign that he has lost faith in the cryptocurrency: “I will still spend all my time working on litecoin,” he said. “When litecoin succeeds, I will still be rewarded in lots of different ways, just not directly via ownership of coins.”

How does it feel to take profits on a high from the crypto boom that has been described as the biggest financial bubble of all time? “Weird” but also “somehow refreshing,” Lee wrote.

- Source, Zero Hedge

Ron Paul: The End of Dollar Hegemony and the Crypto Craze

Dollar hegemony as the world reserve currency is unwinding and coming to an end. While major monetary changes are ahead, the direction that things will go is still far from certain. We know that government and central banks want to get rid of cash because they’re always telling us so. We also know that they want total economic surveillance. Ironically, crypto-currencies provide both of these things for government. Ron Paul discusses this and more on today’s Liberty Report.

- Source, Ron Paul

Bitcoin Proves, You Cannot Have Your Digital Cake and Eat it Too

Today we are going to take a trip down memory lane and rewind back to the year 2012, the year in which I discovered Bitcoin and registered an account on the now famous Bitcoin Talk public forums.

This was truly the wild west of the Bitcoin era, when almost no one knew what Bitcoin was, nor did they even remotely care to know. It was a scoffed at idea when mentioned to others, and members on the public forums would openly talk about how often they were laughed at by family members and others within their circle for even remotely thinking about the idea. It was a "scam" through and through and was not going to last.

Despite this extreme negativity, this small community continued to grow, Libertarians flocked to its banner, because of the potential that Bitcoin offered, as a decentralized form of money. Bitcoin was for the community, maintained by the community and was the community. 

Community was a key word. It was a word that was paramount to the success of Bitcoin. Without it, we wouldn't see the staggering numbers we see today. This push ever onward by the community is why Bitcoin was able to get its footing and build the foundation it vitally needed to survive and prosper.

Businesses popped up and flourished within this community. Bitcoin only shops catered to those within and services became readily available. People sold precious metals, cookies, and there was even an eBay style website for Bitcoin only transactions. Bitcoin was known as a near free to use "currency", as transaction fees were almost non existent and hyper fast.

Now, sadly, let us fast forward to the state of the community today. Bitcoin Talk still has a community of sorts, but long forgotten is the idea of helping one another and creating its own ecosystem. For years now, holding has become the only valid idea. Barely anyone supports each other in a meaningful way and the once flourishing ecosystem has all but eroded away.

Transaction fees have ballooned to upwards of $20.00 per order, making it almost impossible for any small business to accept Bitcoin as a payment option. Traditional credit cards, or other forms of payments have once again stolen back their crowns.

Just recently, Steam, the largest online gaming platform and seller of video games, summed up exactly what I am talking about in a recent press release. Stating that it simply doesn't make sense to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment any longer, given its extreme volatility and cost to transact in:

"In the past few months we've seen an increase in the volatility in the value of Bitcoin and a significant increase in the fees to process transactions on the Bitcoin network. For example, transaction fees that are charged to the customer by the Bitcoin network have skyrocketed this year, topping out at close to $20 a transaction last week (compared to roughly $0.20 when we initially enabled Bitcoin). Unfortunately, Valve has no control over the amount of the fee. These fees result in unreasonably high costs for purchasing games when paying with Bitcoin. The high transaction fees cause even greater problems when the value of Bitcoin itself drops dramatically."

Unfortunately, they are far from alone, as I have watched many small and medium size businesses turn off their Bitcoin payment options over the past year. Additionally, I have watched numerous other "Legendary" status Bitcoin Talk community members "rage quit" over these very points I am bringing up. 

This is something that is not being discussed openly by the markets, as they blindly push the price of Bitcoin higher and higher, and thus increasingly make it even less affordable to transact in.

Perhaps this is not a big deal, and to the new "community" that has formed around Bitcoin, displacing the old guard that used to exist, it likely isn't. They have no intentions of using their Bitcoins as it was originally intended to be used, holding is all that remains and can you truly blame them given the recent parabolic moves higher?

This has made those who have done so incredible gains and even fabulously wealthy if you were able to acquire at early prices and hold throughout all the volatility we have witnessed.

The question is now, when will the broader market finally understand this point and come to this realization? Bitcoin is still touted as an alternative form of money and is one of the reasons why it has risen so much in price. 

Bitcoin can be called a form of saving, an alternative asset or even a store of value, but no longer can Bitcoin can be called money. By any definition it no longer fills this role.

Perhaps one day this will be Bitcoins undoing, perhaps not. But for those who have wishful thinking, believing one day that it will become a form of reserve or national currency, think again. This is just simply not possible. 

Bitcoin is not and will not be money, the dreams that the early members of the community envisioned are long dead, but the gains are not. As life tends to prove time and time again, you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

- As Originally Seen on the Sprott Money Blog

Is America Rapidly Approaching Hyperinflation?

Charles Hugh Smith talks about the disparity in the government’s CPI index that states the cost of living is less than 2% per year when reality is different.

- Source, Jay Taylor Media

Gregory Mannarino: Bitcoin Futures are the Biggest Pump and Dump Ever

On Bitcoin and the new futures markets for it, Trader/analyst Gregory Mannarino says, “Right now, Wall Street with its hand on Bitcoin, means to me that it’s going to be gamed. (Bitcoin) It’s very thinly traded, it’s not widely held. Very few people actually hold this, and the bulk of this is held by very few. So, to game Bitcoin through the exchanges, someone out here with deep pockets, like a bank with unlimited fiat currency, could run the biggest pump and dump the world has ever seen with regard to Bitcoin. They are going to play it using the futures market. Wall Street is going to game this. How do we know this? Wall Street games everything.” 

On the Bond market, Mannarino contends, “The debt market or the bond market is in the largest bubble the world has ever seen. If you believe Bitcoin is in a bubble, the bond market bubble makes Bitcoin look like one grain of sand on the entire earth. That’s how big the debt bubble is. World central banks have gone to unbelievable lengths to prop all this up. They are going to kill the dollar, and they have been killing it for years. It has lost almost all of its purchasing power.” 

Mannarino says the “red warning flag” will come from both the stock and bond markets at the same time. Mannarino explains, “When we see a sell-off in the bond market that does not stop, and we see a simultaneous sell-off in the stock market, when these two assets start to sell off at the same time, there is the gong of gongs. That’s going to be the moment when people need to run for the hills, if you can get out.”

- Source, USA Watchdog

The New World Reserve Currency Will Be a Cryptocurrency Backed by Gold and Silver

With $21 TRILLION gone missing from DOD and HUD, as recently revealed by researchers, WHERE IS THE MONEY, how is it being used, and how will it impact the official US Government financial measures if accounted for properly? 

Are Bitcoin and other cryptos making gold & silver obsolete, or is there a centralized hand over-reaching into the crypto markets? What specific facts signal the last gasp for the US Dollar, against an unarguable preponderance of mega-trends? 

Rob Kirby, proprietary financial analyst, precious metals expert, and founder of KirbyAnalytics.com, returns to Reluctant Preppers to answer YOUR QUESTIONS in this rapid-fire and wide-ranging interview that tackles the tough issues you won’t hear about on the mainstream media!

- Source, The Reluctant Preppers

Dr. Ron Paul: Looking for Inflation in All the Wrong Places

Just as government always lies about its wars and their “progress," they also lie about the economy and inflation. It’s not very hard to do when a compliant media parrots the same lines in unison. Ron Paul talks about the Fed’s massive creation of new dollars in 2008 and how it created an even bigger problem that we’re now going to have to face.

- Source, Dr Ron Paul

Precious Metals Experience a Sharp Decline in Demand as Bitcoin Continues to Steal Its Thunder

The Perth Mint, one of the largest sellers of bullion in the world posted its results and demand is down. Big time.

Additionally, the US Mint has posted figures for its key products, all of which experienced lessened demand throughout the month of November.

The Perth Mint sold 23,901 ounces of gold throughout last month, a drastic drop from October, which saw steady gains. In fact, it was down by 46.4% from October, and 56.3% from November 2016. A stunning reversal from the previously seen strong demand.

But why, why is this happening? Have precious metals suddenly lost their luster, has their 10,000 year history as a store of value suddenly evaporated within the matter of a month? Of course not, this is absurd and ludicrous and sounds like a copy and pasted line from any MSM financial outlet.

What is happening is simple. Bitcoin is stealing the show. Bitcoin is decimating the demand for precious metals and will continue to do so, until it experiences a massive correction, or becomes out of vogue.

The miraculous rise in the price of Bitcoin has contrarian investors backing up in horror. While the crypto currency enthusiast continue to HODL at all cost, foregoing the huge gains they have experienced in the hope that they will continue to see parabolic gains. 

Perhaps they are correct, as the price of Bitcoin has blown through first the $10,000 dollar mark, then $11,000, then $12,000, then $13,000, then $14,000, and then the $15,000 price point. Yes, this all occurred in one week. You can't make this up!

This is one of the greatest wealth transfers we have seen in centuries, and for those who are ringing the register, you can't blame them, as long term holders have likely experiencing gains that they will never again see in their lives.

Still, some in the industry continue to "clutch" their digital coins, as they state Bitcoin could reach $40,000 by the end of this month. A wild predication and one that if proven correct, is truly historic.

I have no idea how much higher Bitcoin is going, nor do I believe anyone else does. This is a totally new asset and one that is impossible to evaluate, especially given its very brief history.

What I am more certain of, with each growing day, is my predication that precious metals are going to experience a dramatic and sharp reversal. A move that is going to be propelled forward throughout the duration of 2018 and one that will eventually see the "barbarous relics" test and break their old highs. A move that is going to be propelled by the eventual top in Bitcoin.

Take heart gold bugs, better days are coming, and take some advice from your cryptocurrency cousins. HODL!

- As Originally Seen on the Sprott Money Blog

Central Banks Are Worried That People Will Realize They Are Obsolete

The establishment are now trying to move into the crypto market by creating a future market for bitcoin. Venezuela will try to use cryptocurrencies to bypass the dollar, the crypto will be backed by oil. The central banks are trying to show why they are needed by using the corporate media. US factory orders slide.The everything bubble is riskier than in 2008. A new research paper shows that the FED does not need to raise interest rates. For the first time ever government passed private debt.

- Source, X22 Report

Dr Ron Paul: Privacy Is Liberty and Liberty Is Privacy

PRIVACY and LIBERTY are both parts of the nature of every individual human being. We are all born with the LIBERTY to think in PRIVATE. Our minds are our individual kingdoms, where every thought happens in secret. POWER seeks to abolish both LIBERTY and PRIVACY. Ron Paul explains the threat.

- Source, Dr Ron Paul

The Coming Shift: Debt Deflation and Structural Demographics

In this episode of Hidden Forces, host Demetri Kofinas speaks with former Chief US Economist for HSBC, Lacy Hunt, about the macro forces driving the global economy in the 21st century. What effect might debt deflation, structural demographics, historically low savings rates, rising inequality, falling productivity, and financialization have on our future? 

How will we navigate the next recession, having wasted the last 8 years chasing the shadows of wealth through buy-backs, stock appreciation, and financialization? Where will the demand come from in a consumer-led economy still fighting the forces of debt-deflation with diminishing savings rates and rising interest expenses? 

How will we manage our unfunded liabilities, mortgage payments, rents, and college tuitions, with falling fertility rates? And how does all of this tie back to the resurgence of populism and the escalation of geopolitical tension in a world tied together by our liabilities but torn apart by the specter of conflict, the failures of diplomacy, and the expediency of war?

- Source, Hidden Forces

Saudi Arabia and Other Geopolitical Gold Market Shockers Coming in 2018

Chris Martenson and Jay Taylor discuss the recent action in the markets and how so many things are pointing to a massive collapse in 2018. This will result in a huge correction in the stock market and a massive surge for precious metals. Shocks are coming.

- Source, Jay Taylor

Bitcoin Rockets Higher, then Crashes Lower, Then Repeats

The Bitcoin markets are in utter turmoil at the moment, the cryptocurrency that has become the envy of all speculative assets, possibly one of the greatest in modern history, is experiencing extreme volatility.

Long familiar with extreme ups and downs, Bitcoin has a history of moving higher rapidly, and also crashing suddenly. This past 24 hours appears to be encompassing both of these directions as the markets engage in an active game of tug of war, with billions of dollars on the line.

Those who have only recently gotten on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, buying into the recent parabolic rise of Bitcoin have to be vomiting in disgust, as they watch their hard earned money being beaten like a dirty rug, but this is it, this is what it looks like to be involved in the cryptocurrency space, and something that veterans of the markets have seen time and time again. It is not all peaches and cream.

It began yesterday, when Bitcoin surged higher, out of nowhere, rising to a high of $11,323 USD, from a $9721 USD start of the day. A monstrous gain in less than 24 hours. However, it was not meant to last as it promptly plummeted downward to $9435 USD, causing many of the major Bitcoin exchanges to crash themselves and go offline, including Coinbase, which is the most well funded exchange within the sector.

Following this crazy few hours, Bitcoin began to climb higher once again, easily breaking the $10,000 USD mark in overnight hours trading, but this too was not meant to last.

Chart Source, CoinDesk

Seeing this extreme volatility has caused many holders of the crypto currency to take profits, pulling out their money and causing another rapid crash lower, which as of this writing, has Bitcoin resting around $9,362 USD.

Compounding these problems is the fact that prominent names within the precious metals space have recently come out and suggested that perhaps it is time to take some gains, as the price of Bitcoin has gone parabolic throughout 2017, shocking even some of its most stout supporters.

As I have previously mentioned, 2017 has been a phenomenal year for Bitcoin. For those who got in even at the start of the year, you should be congratulated, as you made the right call and are now looking at huge gains. But as I have also seen numerous times in the past, Bitcoin can evaporate the majority of your gains in the blink of an eye. This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last time that Bitcoin suffers uncontrolled volatility.

It has been and continues to be, a wild, uncontrolled and incredibly speculative asset. One that has the potential to either change the financial world for all time, or possibly be the greatest scam we have seen since the Tulip mania. 

I lean towards the former, but remember this always, there are powerful forces actively working against Bitcoin and its success, forces that will not take this change and threat to their fiat power lying down.

- As originally seen on the Sprott Money Blog

The Central Banks Are Ready To Make A Move On Gold, It's Not What You Think

The corporate media are trying everything to make it seem like this holiday season is going to be incredible. Spain's third largest bank has implemented a cashless banking agenda. The BRICS are going to create and establish a new gold trading system which will revalue gold. This is what the central banks do, keep the price of gold low, shift the gold to another location and once completed revalue gold higher.

- Source, X22 Report

Ron Paul: Third Wave Bull Market for Gold About to Begin

Dr. Ron Paul goes through economic gold history and cryptocurrencies in this video and feels we are on the eve of the third stage of the bull market in gold. He shares his thoughts below in a Special Market Update.

- Source, Ron Paul