Venezuela’s Maduro Is Running Out Of Time. So Is His Petro

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By CCN: The petro token, one of the last financial schemes crafted by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, will likely fall by the wayside like his regime if the uprising against him is successful.

In a move that caught many in the global community off guard, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó called for the military to rise up and oust Maduro. As people flooded the streets in what was complete chaos, more questions arose as to what will happen to the petro.

One thing is for sure: there is little appetite for the petro. Instead, bitcoin seems to be trading feverishly in response to the uprising as investors once again prove they see it as the best crypto option.

Venezuelan volume totals on LocalBitcoins reached roughly 36 billion bolivars for the week ending April 27. That’s the highest it’s ever been.

Venezuelan volume totals on LocalBitcoins are at peak levels. | Source: Coin Dance

Maduro Pleads for Buyers While Citizens Say Get Out

Last week, Maduro reportedly made a plea to overseas investors to buy the petro over bitcoin.

In a Periscope video, he asked for people to exchange their hard currency for the crypto, saying:

“We welcome all those who will invest in finance and banking sectors and in the cryptocurrency petro.”

At least one player may still be buying the petro, and that’s Russia. When Maduro announced the crypto, he said:

“Russia is buying and selling oil and derivatives in yuan…We are going to sell all our produced oil with Petro.”

Petro’s Unsavory Reputation

From the moment Maduro began bandying about the idea to create the petro, critics pounced. While it was supposed to be backed largely by the country’s oil reserves, questions arose about the value of the reserves.

And although Maduro touted the petro as a means to help the country right its financial ship, many smelled a rat. They believed Maduro pushed for the token as a means to circumvent U.S. economic sanctions.

Since it supposedly began ready to trade in December 2018, the exact value of the petro has been hard to nail down. CCN reported the Venezuelan government has pushed for the petro’s adoption. Maduro even ordered local banks to accept it and revealed that Venezuela “may” charge for exports in it. The way things are looking for both his presidency and the cryptocurrency, he may never get the chance.


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