Mubasher: Venezuela is looking to the world of digital currency to escape financial sanctions by the United States
President Nicolas Maduro announced on Sunday the launch of the new digital currency “petro”, which is backed by oil reserves to shore up a collapsed economy, as reported by Reuters.
The petro would help Venezuela “advance in issues of monetary sovereignty, to make financial transactions and overcome the financial blockade,”
The move comes after the recent surges in the value of bitcoin, although cryptocurrencies are mostly not backed by governments or central banks, the country is seemingly looking to bypass controls and sancations to obtain dollars or make internet purchases.
In October, it was reported that Venezuela could soon decide to adopt the Bitcoin as its new currency in order to deal with its ever-growing issues with hyperinflation,
A report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) showed that Venezuela may be on the verge of forgoing its local currency, the bolivar.
