Has any official sovereign nation ever ran a Ponzi scheme in an attempt to cover a debt?
The United Nations claims there are 206 total states—193 member states, two observer states, and 11 classified as other states.
Nearly all of them have their own currencies. Some countries, for example, Ecuador, use American dollars.
I know of no country that has its currency backed by silver or gold. Yes, they hold silver and gold reserves. Huge difference.
JaronBS’ Rule One — if a country’s monetary system is not backed by gold or silver it’s one of three things:
- Flat broke
- On its way to becoming flat broke.
- Bankrupt. (Which means it may have some assets but will soon be flat broke.)
So the answer to your question is that I know of no sovereign states that are not Ponzi schemes when it comes to their currency.
This explains it in more detail: What Really Backs the U.S. Dollar?
And for further reading:
