To critics, the fact that the dinar’s resale value relies on the enthusiasm of other speculators makes it little more than a collectible—or worse, the central element in an elaborate pyramid scheme. Jeffrey Frankel, a Harvard economics professor, calls the activity “pretend currency trading.” “I’ve received a large number of e-mails from people saying, ‘I understand you’re an expert on Iraq. Do you have any views? Can you advise me?’” he says. “I get the feeling that all these people doing this shouldn’t be. They’re little people, they don’t know what they’re doing, and they’re going to lose a lot of money.”
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