Venezuela will start the pre-sale of the Petro national cryptocurrency today. The government said that the cryptocurrency would be supported by country reserves, i.e. oil, diamonds or gold. As media reports from overseas, there are plenty of willing investors.
President Nicolas Maduro hopes that the national digital currency will help finance transactions and circumvent US sanctions. Paradoxically, Venezuelans will not be able to buy Petro using their own currency, Venezuelan bolivar. Venezuela has been plunged into a deep political and economic crisis for over four years. Mostly, it is struggling with inflation at around 536%.
Venezuela is officially recognized as a country of financial and social decline. The availability of medicines and food is negligible, which leads to a truly catastrophic socio-economic impact. Businesses are falling, citizens are dying in demonstrations, fighting for their own good. There are bloody demonstrations in the streets, suppressed by ruthless police. Coming back a few months back, both the United States and the European Union imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela as opposition to the authoritarian rule of President Nicolas Maduro. Last year, the Economist Intelligence Unit reduced Venezuela from a "hybrid system" to an "authoritarian regime" due to Maduro's continued movement towards the dictatorship.
A government spokesman said that Petro was supplied by investors from Qatar, Turkey and other Middle East countries as well as from European countries, the United States and Canada.
Petro for the good of society, or for Nicolas Maduro?
Unfortunately, Petro probably will not significantly improve the socio-economic situation of Venezuela. The state really needs a huge budget to get back to the right political and economic paths, and from a rational point of view it is relatively impossible. Investors and well-known political figures have great doubts that the digital currency venture will bring any benefits to both the Venezuelan economy and its inhabitants who live under intimidating conditions, and each day is a struggle for survival.
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source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/venezuela-crisis-5-reasons-why-oil-rich-nation-brink-collapse-n674051
Francisco Toro, a Venezuelan journalist, political scientist and blogger, said Venezuela is starting to use crypto accounts of desperation. The main reason is the desire to fight economic isolation from the United States.
"They've tried to find ways to circumvent the money laundering sanctions, and Petro's cryptocurrency may be one way they can do it," Venezuelan journalist Francisco Toro told CNBC
Sweden is also planning to introduce its own cryptocurrency "ekorona". Estonia is not left behind and is also considering such a possibility.
Maduro have enough money why he need make a ico???? this guy have millions!!!
Maybe he wants more.