The news this year has been filled with headlines regarding increasing tensions among the United States, China, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. A full-fledged trade war is underway between the United States and China, and there is perhaps some potential for this to flare up into a military conflict. The United States has levied the most severe sanctions in history against Iran following the collapse of the Iran nuclear deal, and Iran’s escalating rhetoric regarding the annihilation of Israel and the United States.





Venezuela’s economy and currency are collapsing, and the United States is attempting to foster a rebellion against President Nicolás Maduro and implement a democratic government. Lurking in the background is Russia, archrival of the United States since the end of World War II and an ally of China, Iran, and Venezuela. It’s possible that the world could be on the brink of the next world war if any of these regions flare up into a military conflict with the United States.





Bitcoin, the world’s first and by far most popular decentralized currency, is poised to increase massively in value if war breaks out, and an increase in Bitcoin’s value can be expected even if tensions remain the same or escalate without war. There are several reasons for this as will be explained in this article.





The trade war between the United States and China officially started on Jan. 22, 2018 when President Trump levied a 30% tariff on foreign solar panels and a 20% tariff on foreign washing machines. China is the top exporter of solar panels and washing machines to the United States, so these tariffs were aimed at China, and China decried the tariffs.









Notably, the stock market reached its zenith the same week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting 26,600 points after nearly a decade long bull market. Since January 2018, the stock market has been sideways and volatile, revealing the negative impact the trade war has had on the stock market since it first started.





The trade war started due to the tremendous trade imbalance between China and the United States. China had a $337 billion trade surplus with the United States in 2017. Essentially, hundreds of billions of dollars per year were flowing out of the United States into China. Specifically though, the trade war started to to punish China for its theft of U.S. technology — including top secret military technology — via hacking and espionage.

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