bitcoin and gold should not even be compared to each other because they are two different things, comparing them is comparing apples and oranges. bitcoin is a decentralized and global currency while gold is just a metal that has a high value and despite being used as a currency once it is not a good one at it and it is  not global because of its physical form.

Maybe they were already observing Venezuelan economy silently long before it was blown apart. If they are then this test would not be void since they have already gathered a lot of useful data.

I want to add that you must be calm at all times and learn to learn the market cycle. It seems like for example we can be near the point of capitulation or below since All-Time High in January. How much lower we will go or how long we will stay here is another question. You must be steadfast and patient if you enter the crypto game and don't listen to hype or fud.

The national Assembly of Venezuela is preparing a reform of the country's Constitution, which provides for the creation of a crypto-currency Central Bank. It will be “the Central Bank" with its functions in exchange, monetary and financial policy, and the Central Bank will be involved.  In Venezuela, from August 20, a new denominated currency will enter into circulation — the Sovereign Bolivar (Bolivar Soberano), tied to the national crypto currency Petro. On Monday, the country's President Nicolas Maduro (Nicolás Maduro) said that the country will begin to operate a new system of wages and prices, also tied to Petro.

At this point though, it isn't happening. The dollar is still the unit of exchange for most countries (but I don't think it will be for long). Russia and China are already moving away from it.

Bitcoin's market cap isn't big enough to be a factor in world trade. It's only about $41 billion, whereas physical money is $31 trillion. So there's plenty of room to grow. This means that it cannot influence world trade, but it might be able to in the future. It is a useful enough tool, so more and more countries will want to start using it.

Actually pretty good question but a never ending one as there is no fixed link even between the oldest of the alt coins and Bitcoin, its all in the minds and I guess usage of the participants spread over crypto.

So last year we had the BTC blockchain split happening and people wanted to hold BTC for that duration and also there was a large influence on alt coins prices rising quite alot as alternatives to BTC.

This year I see the main feature as being that BTC has fixed the order in its own house and reduced transaction fees dramatically.  If alt coins have one person its to easily and cheaply pass value which BTC is already doing quite well hence maybe leading to the lower prices.    Genuine innovation and use is required to justify pricing long term

Is there a role for Bitcoin in international trade? Have you heard of a trade between two countries?
And will it be in the future?

Is this a good time for Facebook to try new kinds of stuff. Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg has become the world's third richest man in the world and he has achieved all that just because of technology and a right idea, So do you guys think he will now at least think about experimenting to take bitcoin as a payment method in facebook. I think that will surely change a lot of people's mind around the world and they can freely put some money on facebook business.

There is also a lot of alts that is good for investment. At the moment bitcoin is good for a short investment. Why? Because the price is not stable, it decreasing at any moment then after that it increases.

The points you mentioned here is spot on. However, due to the current status of the market, it is really hard to move your funds to an ICO which is still yet to prove themselves. Although, this is also a good time to invest on those emerging ones. It is just a gamble and might need your due diligence in doing research to see if the investment is worthwhile.

Bitcoin fell 70% from 19500$ peak and negative headlines had wiped out billions in value in cryptocurrencies,
But top U.S. regulators testifying before a Senate committee called for greater oversight, without proposing industry-killing measures.
That was something different from crackdown on crypto that hapened in asia, and created picture of stable asset from Bitcoin.
That news gave enough positive momentum for traders to continue investing in cryptocurrencie market and Bitcoin, and returned more than
100 billion $ back in crypto market, as we can see in the last week.

Something that can give us a little more volatility in price is Chinese New Year celebrations for the Year of the Dog begin in China
and follow across much of Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Chinese mainland markets are closed Feb. 15-21.