Cryptocurrencies are all the rage these days and the concept is now being used to raise significant sums of money from investors willing to put their money into digital assets. If you’ve ever wanted to invest in Venezuelan crude oil but haven’t been able to do so, then the country’s Petro cryptocurrency will let you do just that. Venezuela has now launched what it claims to be the world’s first sovereign oil-backed cryptocurrency.
The country’s economy has been in a crisis ever since the slide in oil prices and production. It has hit the country hard since oil accounts for 96 percent of its exports.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has said that each Petro token is backed by a barrel of Venezuelan crude. For those who are unaware, this Latin American country actually has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
The initial value of the Petro coin has been set at $60 which was the price of a barrel of Venezuelan crude in mid-January. The country is going to issue a total of 100 million Petros.
Today was the first day of pre-sale for the Petro cryptocurrency and Maduro has claimed that it has raised $735 million for the country. The president has said multiple times in the past that the country’s cryptocurrency will enable it to circumvent Western sanctions.
Filed in . Read more about Cryptocurrencies. Source: twitter