Venezuelan Digital Currency Petro Caught In US Sanctions And Unclear Policies

• Venezuela’s economy depends on crude oil, and the country exports large quantities of it every year.
• President of Venezuela, Mauro, said that he had ordered 100 million Petros with the proper sustenance of Venezuelan oil wealth.
• The Venezuelan economy, its savior petro is going down. Right now, local cryptocurrency dealers are offering petro at half rates.

Venezuela’s economy depends on crude oil, and the country exports large quantities of it every year. Owing to this fact, the Venezuelan government made it mandatory to pay the port fees in its controversial digital currency, Petro. Because of the reliability issues of Petro, many countries paused their purchases from Venezuela.

Initially, there were many speculations about this cryptocurrency. Venezuela revealed its digital currency, Petro backing it on the oil reserves in the region.

President of Venezuela, Mauro, said that he had ordered 100 million Petros with the proper sustenance of Venezuelan oil wealth. Each petro will be equal to one barrel of Venezuelan oil.

However, right now, Petro remains a controversial topic. The economic condition and US sanctions, many buyers have stopped their purchase from Venezuela.

This situation got even worse not only due to the “bumpy” adoption of Petro but also because President Mauro ordered 1 million oil barrels to kept on hold. At the same time, the government announced the change in payment policy.

Petro introduced what considered to be a brilliant plan to circumvent the US sanctions. The public sale of Petro began in November 2018 nearly eight months after its presale in February 2018.

The cryptocurrency was supposed to help the already struggling economy of the country. However, it has failed to make any improvements to the economy.

Just like the Venezuelan economy, its savior petro is going down. Right now, local cryptocurrency dealers are offering petro at half rates. Even the Venezuelan population is fed up with Petro and wants it removed.

The government still claims that the value of one Petro is around $60. However, the local markets are providing goods worth $30 for one Petro. Still, people are flocking to buy things with the Petro due to the economic conditions of Venezuela.

The government has allowed Petro use within the local stores via biometric apps, but the number of people who were flocking the stores was so high that these transactions have called off.

Ritika Sharma

With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.