Venezuela recently launched “Petro” currency with the aim to survive the dwindling economic crisis the country is facing. According to reports, the move is aimed at pulling out the country from the economic tailspin. However, the blockchain experts have warned that this move is most unlikely to attract any significant investment.
The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro has taken this step with the hope that it will allow the ailing OPEC nation to ignore the U.S. sanctions. The bolivar currency is currently has plunged to record lows and is struggling with hyperinflation and collapsing socialist economy. The opposition leaders of Venezuela also have made some contradictory remarks. They have said that the sale constitutes an illegal debt issuance circumventing the majority-opposition legislature of the country.
Even the U.S. Treasury Department has warned Venezuela that if the situation demands it may violate the sanctions levied last year. Maduro made the official launch of petro with an evening address.
Official Website Publishes Guide For Petro
A few days ago, the official website for the petro posted a guide for people who want to set up a virtual wallet for holding the cryptocurrency. However, there is no link as to how to actually do it nor does the website provide any information on exchanges. During his address, Maduro stated that the first operations will be carried out via a private sale.
However, he did not elaborate on this point. There was some insight from Carlos Vargas, the Cryptocurrency Superintendent of Venenzuala. Vargas said that the government expects to draw investment from investors in Qatar, Turkey, Europe, and the United States. The details given by Maduro in recent months reveal that the entire petro issuance will have a value of 100 million tokens which is just over $6 billion. However, during his recent evening address, Maduro did not reveal any new price information.
According to the president, the barrel of Venezuelan crude oil will value and back each token. On the other hand, the advisors who are currently working with the government on this project have recommended that it should sell 38.4 % petro in a private auction at 60% discount.
