Introduction
Venezuela has developed its own oil-based cryptocurrency, known as the Petro, and is now available for presale. With 82 million tokens available and the governments plan to release its Initial Coin Offering sometime this month, Venezuela are hoping that the introduction of this will bring a fresh, positive outlook on the countries financial status.
(Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela. Source: Getty)
Petro's Potential
Although Petro had seen its initial announcement towards the end of last year, its official disclosure earlier today has sparked a lot of controversy. President Nicolas Maduro had seen Petro as a key resolution to the countries Economic issues. He had stated that "Petro is born and we are going to have a total success for the welfare of Venezuela," teleSUR reports, followed with Maduro claiming that "the largest companies and blockchain in the world are with Venezuela."
Venezuela have also claimed that it strongly believes foreign investment from countries like Turkey and Qatar would aid the development of Petro.
A Controversial Currency?
This may seem like a positive development for the country however, the US Treasury has issued warnings to the general public and potential buyers, that investing in "the next Bitcoin" could violate a number of financial sanctions. This would result in a loss of investment, as buyers would see their purchase written off.
The cryptocurrency is supported through Venezuela's significant oil reserve, with the President stating that 100 million tokens will be available. This, in today's market, is worth roughly $6bn. If all controversy is avoided and Petro can see continuous stages of noticeable development, its potential success could introduce stronger regulations on digital currencies in general.
Amidst all question marks raised, this announcement proves that the government are prepared to take significant strides and have identified their Economic woes. With their vast oil supplies, even if Petro was nullified through sanctions, Venezuela are prepared to take risks to correct their financial situation.
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