'FAKE NEWS' ALERT. The Department of Finance warns the public against an online article saying the government has created a platform where citizens can invest in cryptocurrency and gain from it, which it described as “fake news”. The department on Monday (April 27, 2020) called on the public to exercise caution in their investments and to keep their expectations of returns realistic. (Photo courtesy of DOF)
MANILA – The Department of Finance (DOF) on Monday night dubbed as “fake news” and “malicious” an online article saying the government has created a platform, where citizens can invest in cryptocurrency and gain from it.
“There is no such effort by the government,” the DOF said in a public advisory.
Cryptocurrency is a virtual asset that uses cryptography and is being used for digital financial transactions.
This asset is, however, not expected to replace fiat currency any time soon since no central bank has backed it up yet.
The fake news report said the government has created a platform called Bitcoin Lifestyle, which it noted - is an agreement that the government “has been working to change Philippines technology, currency, and monetary system.”
It said President Rodrigo Duterte, whom it described as a “business magnate, philanthropist, and investor”, “has signed the largest agreement of the century in the Philippines.”
It claimed that the platform “helps the government generate money to support retired citizens and young students without raising taxes,” which the DOF, in turn, said is false.
“We categorically deny that there is such a move, and warn the public against potentially harmful financial transactions with those behind the article,” the DOF said.
The department called on the public “to exercise caution in their investments, and to keep their expectations of returns realistic.”
It also urged Filipinos “to report similarly suspicious investment schemes to the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with telephone number 8818-5704.”
“We warn unscrupulous individuals and groups attempting to lure the public into unauthorized and deceptive investment schemes that the government is monitoring the public space for such schemes, and will take appropriate legal and regulatory action,” it added. (PNA)
