Or, EU and USA, get your thumbs out of your asses!
Disclaimer: I am not promoting a dictatorial regime, which, in my opinion, is currently in control in Venezuela.
I feel for the people and their situation, so do not take this post as an endorsement for this situation!!
El Petro, a Venezuelan Crypto
The decision of Venezuela to create an oil-backed coin, El Petro (which is not Petrodollar, XPD), reeks of opportunism and desperation. With the normal currency of Venezuela, the Bolivar, constantly devaluating, there is no reason to trust that the Petro will be more reliable.
Blue vertical lines represent every time the currency has lost 90% of its value, which has happened four times since 2012. it shows that as of December 2017, the currency is worth 10,000 times less than it was in August 2012 and the rate at which the value is lost, also known as inflation, is accelerating.
However:
Recently Nicolas Maduro issued the following "request"
“I order the payment of consular services in all embassies and consulates of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the world, [and] all consular services in the country, in the petro currency or in any cryptocurrency.”
This basically means that Venezuela is the first country in the world where you can pay government agencies using any crypto you want. It makes sense that this will be followed by corporations and maybe later stores and shops.
In case Maduro loses the next election, scheduled for April 2018, we can only hope that his successors will follow this path and lead their country into the future and prosperity.
The future of Cryptos
It is unthinkable that while we're seeing dictatorships like this, and Eastern European countries, looking at crypto as an opportunity to distinguish themselves and embrace it, the EU and the USA are still sitting with their thumbs up their asses. Instead of following and leading these developments, they spread FUD to try and squash what cannot be squashed.
For any company or start-up that want to do something with cryptos, it makes sense to look at these alternatives, and ignore the old countries.