Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Sings Praises Of State-Owned Crypto, Petro

Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela, has begun to sing his praises for his devised cryptocurrency, the state-owned Petro. As of now, Maduro claims that the country will start selling oil and gold in exchange for the Petro cryptocurrency. With the state and Petro being what they are, it’s unclear if these things are fact or fiction.

Newfound Contracts For Petro Coin

A report was made by way of TASS, a Russia-based news agency. Maduro allegedly told the Venezuelan national newspaper service, El Nacional, that the country has signed various contracts. The statement, done on the 3rd of January, claimed that contracts were approved for the sale of various goods like gold, oil and other assets in exchange for the Petro cryptocurrency.

“We will sell Venezuelan oil in exchange for Petros,” was the start of the statement, with Maduro claiming that Venezuela is already selling its steel and iron ore for the crypto. “We have already signed contracts for the sale of oil, steel, iron and aluminum,” the statement specified, with Maduro stating that gold will be used in the future.

Claims Of Rampant Success 

Maduro claims that the Petro coin has been successfully introduced into Venezuela by the government. He further claims that Venezuelans make use of the Petro coin in their day-to-day lives. In the president’s account, the minimum amount of Venezuelan families that make use of Petro as a form of payment reached 6 million during the New Year. Maduro claims that all of these families make use of Petro as a way of payment during this time.

Back in December of last year, or rather a week ago, the Venezuelan government made use of the cryptocurrency as a benefit. In particular, this benefit was given to both public sector employees and pensioners within the country.

A Brief History

The Petro coin had its first sale back in February of 2018. At its inception, the Venezuelan president claimed that the price of a Petro coin was staked on a barrel of oil produced within the South American country. Furthermore, Venezuela’s government claims that the Petro coin is backed by a reserve of oil barrels exceeding the 30 million mark.

However, there have been many questions as to the validity of the Petro coins and its various shortcomings. The government of Venezuela has so far been less-than forthcoming with verifiable facts, with no evidence ever given that it was a stablecoin, to begin with. While that’s not bad in and of itself, Bitcoin (BTC) being a prime example of an asset less cryptocurrency, the problem comes when one claims its value is staked to something that doesn’t exist.