Russia loses billions of rubles every year on smuggling and re-export of goods from Belarus. A joint investigation by Proekt, BelSat and Naviny.by shows that Moscow turns a blind eye to the problem, allowing companies associated with the Belarusian authorities to make money.
Why did Russia cover up cigarette smuggling? How the Belarusian authorities make money on illegal tobacco How Belarus became a flower paradise The real beneficiaries of flower imports
Russia loses billions of rubles every year on smuggling and re-export of goods from Belarus. A joint investigation by Proekt, BelSat and Naviny.by shows that Moscow turns a blind eye to the problem, allowing companies associated with the Belarusian authorities to make money.
Why did Russia cover up cigarette smuggling? How the Belarusian authorities make money on illegal tobacco How Belarus became a flower paradise The real beneficiaries of flower imports
Like a stock, you can buy and hold Bitcoin as an investment. You can even now do so in special retirement accounts called Bitcoin IRAs. No matter where you choose to hold your Bitcoin, people’s philosophies on how to invest it vary: Some buy and hold long term, some buy and aim to sell after a price rally, and others bet on its price decreasing. Bitcoin’s price over time has experienced big price swings, going as low as $5,165 and as high as $28,990 in 2020 alone. “I think in some places, people might be using Bitcoin to pay for things, but the truth is that it’s an asset that looks like it’s going to be increasing in value relatively quickly for some time,” Marquez says. “So why would you sell something that’s going to be worth so much more next year than it is today? The majority of people that hold it are long-term investors.”
How to Use Bitcoin?
n the U.S. people generally use Bitcoin as an alternative investment, helping diversify a portfolio apart from stocks and bonds. You can also use Bitcoin to make purchases, but the number of vendors that accept the cryptocurrency is still limited. Big companies that accept Bitcoin include Overstock, AT&T and Twitch. You may also find that some small local retailers or certain websites take Bitcoin, but you’ll have to do some digging. That said, PayPal has announced that it will enable cryptocurrency as a funding source for purchases this year, financing purchases by automatically converting crypto holdings to fiat currency for users. “They have 346 million users and they’re connected to 26 million merchants,” says Spencer Montgomery, founder of Uinta Crypto Consulting. “It’s huge.”
