Venezuela Prepares for the Launch of the Petro

It would appear some details regarding Venezuela’s own cryptocurrency have come to light. We already know it goes by the name of Petro. Moreover, this is an oil-backed currency. It is also a response to the worsening financial crisis in Venezuela today. It seems President Maduro has ordered the issuance of 100 million Petros moving forward. An interesting decision, considering the whitepaper has yet to be revealed.

Everyone knows Venezuela is not a fun place to live right now. Growing inflation and no viable solutions create a very uneasy ecosystem. Issuing a national cryptocurrency seems to be the only option left worth exploring. President Nicolas Maduro has confirmed the Petro will come to market in the next few months. So far, no one knows the exact specifics of this currency, at least on the technical side. The value of this currency is backed by the country’s vast oil reserves.

Introducing the Petro in Venezuela

It would appear the first batch of Petro coins will be issued soon. A supply of 100 million Petros will be brought into circulation. This number is not chosen randomly either Instead, it is based on national wealth. Every Petro has the same value as a barrel of Venezuelan oil. An interesting prospect, as it should ultimately inject a lot of money into this new currency. The big question is whether or not there will be any interest by foreigners to obtain this new currency.

It is also expected the think tank behind the Petro currency will convene next week. It will also be the first national meeting of this new currency’s miners. For now, we still have no idea how this currency will be mined exactly. After all, since it is backed by oil reserves, there seems no reason to mine anything. A better option is to create batches of this currency like Tether does. For now, we have to speculate as to how things will play out for Venezuela’s new currency.

When the whitepaper is unveiled, things will become a lot clearer. For now, no one in Venezuela knows what to expect from the Petro exactly. There are still a lot of questions which need to be answered, to say the least. It would also be good to know which blockchain will be used to issue this new currency. A private ledger seems to be the most obvious choice in this regard. How all of this will play out, has yet to be determined. It’s certainly an interesting development to keep an eye on.

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