by Chris Marcus, Miles Franklin:

While Wall Street, Washington, and the Federal Reserve tiptoe past all of the canaries lying on the floor of the coal mine, Russia not only continues to move towards gold. But even continues to be kind enough to warn people as the developments are happening.

After selling the majority of their U.S. Treasury holdings, while continuing to buy physical gold, now a Russian lawmaker has suggested that Russia turn to some form of cryptocurrency backed by gold.

A senior Russian lawmaker has suggested that Moscow should turn to cryptocurrency, backed by gold, for payments in Russian arms exports to evade financial sanctions from the west.

Prominent lawmaker Vladimir Gutenev, first deputy head of the economic policy Committee at the State Duma (the Russian Parliament’s lower chamber), has urged the Kremlin to suspend treaties with the United States amid an escalating policy-war.

“[Russia should] consider the possibility of conducting transactions in cryptocurrencies that are linked to the value of gold. And I’m sure that this will be a very interesting option for China, India, and other states as well.”

The handwriting continues to be on the wall, as country after country continues to back away from the U.S. dollar network. And while some look at the Emerging Market currency crisis and flock to U.S. dollars and treasuries as a so-called “safe haven,” the latest events point out how that arrangement is likely to be disrupted in the near future as well.

In Venezuela, another country experiencing its own currency turmoil, president Nicolas Maduro is also reportedly turning to gold-backed Investments.

President Nicolas Maduro said he is investing part of his personal savings in a gold-backed certificate as part of a much-questioned plan to crush hyperinflation and reactivate Venezuela’s moribund economy.

With the U.S. trade deficit recently increasing by the most in the past three years, as well as all of the other trends discussed on the Miles Franklin blog, the fundamentals are in place to support a further abandonment of the U.S. dollar system.

How much longer it will be until the breakpoint occurs remains unanswered. Yet with gold and silver prices again at low levels near what it costs to get them out of the ground, taking heed of the actions of the nations that have been financing U.S. borrowing remains worthwhile.

Read More @ MilesFranklin.com