Venezuela to issue $5.9 billion in oil-backed cryptocurrency

Reuters has a report on Venezuela's plans to issue an oil backed alternative currency, apparently trying to leverage the crypto-currency boom to circumvent US sanctions. Using a fossil fuel to back the currency is bad but no worse than the massive waste of energy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies represent - Maduro says Venezuela will issue $5.9 billion in oil-backed cryptocurrency.

President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday that Venezuela would issue 100 million units of its new oil-backed cryptocurrency in coming days ... Socialist Maduro surprised many last month when he announced the launch of the cryptocurrency, to be backed by Venezuela’s oil, gas, gold and diamond reserves, as a way to circumvent U.S. sanctions that have hurt Venezuela’s access to international banks.