Venezuela's high court dissovles National Assembly

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(CNN)In a surprising move the Venezuelan opposition is calling a coup, the Venezuelan Supreme Court has stripped the country's National Assembly of its powers. The court ruled that all powers vested under the legislative body will be transferred to the Supreme Court, which is stacked with government loyalists.

The ruling effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The opposition has been taken out of the picture.

Prominent opposition leaders are already calling the government of President Nicolás Maduro "a dictatorship."

"Nicolás Maduro has staged a coup d'état," National Assembly President Julio Borges said Thursday. "What this ruling means is that, for the first time, Nicolás Maduro has all the power to enact laws, assign contracts, incur foreign debt and persecute fellow Venezuelans."
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Venezuela is facing a deep humanitarian crisis sparked by an economic meltdown. Shortages of basic food products and medicines are commonplace. Inflation is expected to rise 1,660% this year and 2,880% in 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund.

It seems like Venezuela is destined for violence, the socialist dictatorship cannot survive long with the economic collapse so bad that it could bring mass famine. Dangerous times...

Venezuelan Currency Slowly Getting Replaced By Pepe Memes

Venezuela’s economy is so awful, its citizens are increasingly turning alternative currencies, including Bitcoin and even internet memes.

Software developers use Bitcoin and “Rare Pepe” trading cards to mask their transactions. Such crypto-currencies grant anonymity, meaning it’s harder for Venezuela’s socialist government to control the tech industry. Others have noticed and started using digital money in place of paper money.

“We’re based in Venezuela, and our business has been saved by bitcoin many times,” a Venezuelan developer, who wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation, told Crypto Insider Wednesday. “In that timeframe, thanks to bitcoin related business, we’ve grown our employee base from just 5 to 10. We’ve air-conditioned our office. Year-over-year we’ve been improving, so we’re banking big on bitcoin and now over Counterparty assets.”

Tech companies can issue “Rare Pepe” trading cards, based on the popular internet meme of a green frog, on the Bitcoin-linked Counterparty platform. The system began as a joke, but now Pepe cards are exchanged for the equivalent of thousands of dollars. Each “Rare Pepe” is linked to the value of a bitcoin, creating scarcity that’s lacking in paper money.