The one that according to the government of Venezuela is the first digital currency launched by a State, started on Tuesday. Its success in the deep crisis that the country is going through will depend on the fact that the Executive of Nicolás Maduro can offer confidence, key in the market of cryptocurrencies.
### President Nicolás Maduro has assured that his cryptocurrency, the petro, will "promote welfare and bring power to the people". A challenge, taking into account that Venezuelans can not even buy it. On the official website, which promotes the pre-sale of digital currency, which will end on March 19, only accepts transactions in dollars and euros and the rival currencies Bitcoin and Ether, notes the Bloomberg agency.
Venezuelans will be able to buy petros with bolivars in the secondary market, which is likely to quote online at the black market rate. Owning cryptocurrencies is attractive in inflation-ridden countries with currency controls like Venezuela, as they provide a way to protect the savings, Bloomberg added.
The government, which owes approximately 60 billion dollars to foreign creditors, has raised about 735 million dollars up to the time of the sale of petro, according to Maduro. The maximum amount that is expected to be obtained is around 4.9 billion dollars and that is if the government manages to sell the 82.4 million petros issued in the pre-sale to a public offering of 60 dollars per token, a value that is based on a barrel of oil.
About half of the proceeds will go to a "sovereign fund," while the rest will go to the development of the project, according to the so-called white paper that describes the plan.
It is not clear why investors would buy at that price, said Russ Dallen, CEO of Caracas Capital to Reuters. There is no guarantee that they can exchange petros for oil, he said
Income has fallen due to the low production and the reduction of oil prices, the main and almost only source of currency entry into the country.
Added to this are the financial sanctions imposed by the United States that prevent it from issuing new debt or refinancing through the institutions of that country.
Backed by Venezuelan crude oil, the petro represents a "change of time in the financial world," said Minister of Science and Technology, Hugbel Roa, on Tuesday.