HZM: a currency that prompted Iraqis to sell their properties to invest in it

Shafaq News / The globally widespread Cryptocurrency is a new and strange concept for Iraqis in general, although many countries adopted it as an important economic resource.

Recently, a digital currency called "HZM" was widely coined by Arab journalist Mohammed al-Arab, who is known as al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath channels' reporter in Yemen to cover the Saudi-led coalition's war against the Houthi Movement, through which he was nicknamed the correspondent of the HZM Storm, which the new digital currency was called after.

Mohammed al-Arab is a Bahraini journalist of Iraqi origin, born in al-Fallujah, eastern Al-Anbar, which contributed to the spread of his digital currency in Al-Anbar, as thousands of the governorate’s residents decided to try their luck and invested in HZM coin.

The latest currency, which is widely spread in Al-Anbar, was launched nearly three months ago when one million packages were worth 500 dollars. However, its rapid spread and public interest in investing in it increased the currency dramatically, that the price of one million packages is worth more than 24,000 dollars now after the increasing demand of Al-Anbar’s people.

Facebook groups, which are followed by the governorate’s people, are packed with inquiries about the nature of the modern digital currency to invest in it, while many car dealerships and jewelry stores in Al-Anbar have announced accepting payments with HZM coin.

"Because the currency is still new, there are many who want to invest their money in it, but their fears of fraud prevent it," said an owner of a digital currency selling office in Al-Anbar, "The real reason for citizens' fears is that Iraqis do not unanimously have a digital currency culture. As a matter of fact, there is no possibility of fraud in this regard, especially since many countries deal in digital currencies extensively."

“HZM coin is the same as the dinar or the dollar, it is vulnerable to fall or rise, and the coming days will answer all the questions and allegations of those who doubt it," he said.

HZM coin recorded significant profits for its investors in Al-Anbar, reaching nearly tenfold, prompting some to sell their properties to invest in it.

With the start of citizens' investment in the HZM coin, several Sunni religious scholars have prohibited dealing with it, including Abdul Malik al-Saadi, one of the most prominent Sunni scholars in Iraq and a senior jurist in Al-Anbar.

Sheikh Abdullah al-Kubaisi, chairman of the Council of Imams and Preachers of al-Fallujah district in eastern Al-Anbar, said the currency’s legitimacy was suspicious, "E-currency trade is religiously suspicious, as some Muslim scholars have authorized it, and others have denied it and counted it as Riba (usury).”

"A big reaction emerges after anything new appears in society, which may be positive but often negative,” Cryptocurrency researcher Imad Mohammed told Shafaq News agency, "Cryptocurrencies are codes with a modern technology called Blockchain, which is 100% hack-safe, and neither wallet nor capital can be hacked, nor can the money be wasted at all, as Blockchain is made up of nine stages, i.e. even if someone can detect one or two stages, they cannot go beyond the next stage, which makes it impossible to penetrate."

He added, "Cryptocurrencies are future currencies, and I think 10 years from now the whole world will go to digital currencies and adopt them even as an economic resource.”

"Through my participation in many conferences and research on cryptocurrencies, both inside and outside Iraq, and my extensive study on bitcoin, in particular, I understood that there are drawbacks and advantages about all currencies," Imad continued, "The pros are determined by three points, namely, speed, low transfer cost, and confidentiality as the transfer speed does not exceed one minute, i.e. if I want to transfer any amount even if it is too large, there is no need to go to the bank, if I have a digital dollar or any other digital currency, I can transfer the amount in just 60 seconds.”

"The second advantage is low cost, as any amount can be transferred for only 1 dollar, whether I want to transfer 10 dollars or 1 million dollars, the cost is one dollar. The third advantage is confidentiality, and that is why some suspicious transactions' owners are dealing in digital currencies, for they are done confidentially between the sender and the recipient; for example, if I want to transfer an amount of money to someone else, I do not need their name, phone number, or any personal information. The same applies to the recipient," he said.

"Since the HZM coin was announced, I have started monitoring and studying it in detail for a whole week, to make sure it is real. I bought 100 dollars worth of packages through Zain Cash, and now, it is worth 2,600 dollars because any digital currency’s start is very high, different from the old currencies, which have been in circulation for years," Imad pointed.

"My study on this currency has shown that there is no fraud in it, especially after it has been introduced into reliable global platforms, namely the European WhiteBIT, the Chinese XT, and the U.S. Coin Market Cap, which does not include any currency in its database, except on incapacitating terms, auditing, and calculation," Imad added, "The currency will reach 10 cents by the end of this year, and by the end of next year it will be 1 dollar or more.”

"There is nothing that guarantees the investor's rights in this currency, as any currency must be issued by an official entity such as central banks or a particular country," said economist Khaled Rokan.

"The demand for investment in this currency was due to the citizen's search for an easier source of livelihood, but what if this source has no guarantee for the investor?" wondered Rokan, a professor at al-Fallujah University's School of Management and Economics, "Some sold their properties to invest in the HZM currency. What would they do if it is to be prevented or banned? As an economist, I think it is useless because it is not accredited neither in Iraq nor in any other country.”

"If there is any fraud or currency depreciation, no one has the right to sue the HZM coin owners because the law does not protect the fools, similar to the 1990s’ the Samko famous story in Al-Anbar,” he added.

In the 1990s, a large number of citizens in the governorate sold their properties and deposited their money with a person named Sami to run it. Later, it became clear that Sami’s company never actually existed.

Rokan concluded, "My message is to anyone who has invested their money in the HZM coin and to the general public. Anyone who is looking for an investment project should look for an approved project with legal support, for the law to guarantee their rights in case any fraud occurs."

Shafaq News agency contacted several Central Bank of Iraq’s (C.B.I.) employees to confirm whether the HZM coin was officially registered, however, they confirmed that they were not aware of the existence of such a currency in the first place.

"So far, we do not have any information about this currency," said Ahmed al-Qaisi, an employee of the C.B.I. information office, “We did not get official information about the HZM currency, even in the media office."

This was confirmed by his colleague in the information office, Eyser Jabbar, and several other C.B.I. employees.