The executive secretary of Venezuela’s Blockchain Observatory, Daniel Peña, recently did an interview for the country’s Cuatro F newspaper, in which he claims Donald Trump’s Petro (PTR) ban was free publicity for the oil-backed cryptocurrency. So much so, it allegedly helped double the number of interested investors.
As covered by CCN, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning US citizens from buying, trading, or dealing in cryptocurrencies related to the Venezuelan government – the Petro, and potentially the Petro Gold.
In his interview, Peña revealed he sees cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology as “important steps in humanity’s revolution.” He claimed he knows Venezuela is going in the right direction with the Petro, as Donald Trump took the time to issue an executive order on it. When asked how Trump’s words affected the oil-backed cryptocurrency, he stated (roughly translated):
“I answer you like Earle Herrera [a Venezuelan journalist] when he said that I do not know anything about cryptocurrency, nor do I have clarity about the evolution of the digital currency; But if US President Donald Trump gives it time, imagine that. A person so busy giving it his time, that means we’re on the right path.”
Peña further claimed the country’s government had been preparing for a “US” attack on the Petro. Trump’s move, he said, didn’t affect the Petro, but instead served as a “boomerang for the US government,” as it “aroused more interest in acquiring the Petro in the world.”
He touted that he’s been seeing rising interest in Africa, and that Trump’s executive order was free publicity. As such, he claimed there’s an ever-growing amount of investors looking to buy Petros – even in the US.
The executive secretary noted that before Trump’s words the Petro had “more or less 400 clients” per day, and that after the president’s words the number jumped to 800. Petro’s sale, he said, will last until every single token has been bought.
The interviewer then asked Peña when could Venezuela expect to see its economy improve. He replied:
“Petro’s impact will be felt within three to six months. We have already advanced fast. As the gringos know that we are going to quickly reorganize our economy, they attack the Bolivarian Government; but they will not stop the economy’s growth, they know it.
As covered by CCN, the century-old think tank Brookings Institute has claimed Venezuela’s Petro undermines legitimate cryptocurrencies, and won’t stabilize Venezuela’s economy. Moreover, the think tank claimed it’s unclear what use the oil-backed cryptocurrency has for foreign investors.
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, last month, claimed the Petro’s pre-sale raked in $5 billion. These numbers, according to currently available information, don’t add up if we take into account a total of 38.4 million tokens were being sold at $60 each. This means Maduro may have falsified these numbers.