Venezuela doesn’t have the money to pay for its money…

The Wall Street Journal reports three dozen 747 jets have begun importing a vital commodity into Venezuela: cash.

Venezuelan President Maduro ordered five billion banknotes of denominations up to 100 bolivars (the Venezuelan currency) near the end of last year. He’s since ordered an additional 10 billion notes.

Venezuela is burning through cash thanks to its hyperinflationary environment. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts Venezuelan inflation will surge to 720% by the end of the year.

By Christmas, you’ll need a wheelbarrow of cash to buy one dinner out…

  Now Bloomberg reports Venezuela is having a hard time scraping together anything of value to pay for its swelling money supply. (The foreign manufacturers of the country’s paper notes won’t accept the near-worthless bills they print in payment.)

One way to lower the cost of bringing in Venezuela’s money is to print higher-denomination notes… but the government fears that would accelerate hyperinflation. So it’ll stick to 100-bolivar notes as the highest denomination for now…

  Regular Daily readers know Venezuela is “ground zero” for Tom’s Great Unwinding thesis: the largest global credit contraction in world history. This means a stronger U.S. dollar over time… and it’s wreaking havoc on world currency markets.

Investors have three alternatives for muting the effect of currency devaluations as The Great Unwinding unfolds:

  • The U.S. dollar will remain the “cleanest dirty shirt” in the currency closet. Even though the dollar is as corrupt as every other paper currency… it will be the last to go.
  • Gold remains the best overall hedge against global uncertainty. Its relative value stands to increase in both inflationary and deflationary environments. (Our friends at Casey Research are the experts when it comes to gold speculations.)
  • Private cryptocurrencies—like bitcoin—may become a global “lifeboat” for folks trying to avoid capital controls and paper currency collapse. In his latest Mega Trends issue, Editor Teeka Tiwari shares his favorite ways to avoid the worldwide currency disruption.

    (The issue includes a special report on “the next bitcoin.” He believes the new currency will dwarf bitcoin’s $13 to $1,157 moonshot… as populations flee from crashing paper currencies worldwide.)

Bottom line: If you’re concerned about The Great Unwinding’s effect on your wealth, consider implementing some or all of the steps above… before Venezuela-style debasement bleeds into your own nest egg.