Two days ago, Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro, ordered the nation’s banks to adopt the Petro digital currency, so now Venezuelan banks must accept Petro.
In a bid to reform the nation and alleviate the current Venezuelan economic crisis, Maduro is trying to get the Petro coin recognized as Venezuela’s second currency and now banks within the nation must accept the coin.
The hope is that by fixing the nation’s fiat currency to the newly created Petro, financial stability will be possible.
Venezuelan Banks Must Accept Petro
Venezuela’s economic situation is dire. By the end of this year, the IMF estimates that the country is going to reach inflation levels of 1 million percent. Poverty is obviously rampant and many people have fled to try and escape the crisis.
But others are putting their cash into digital currencies as a form of protection for their wealth. Currencies such as Bitcoin and Dash are popular among the masses, with Dash, in particular, becoming more widely accepted by merchants—Subway and Calvin Klein both allow people to pay with the digital currency.
Earlier this year, The Dash Foundation invested $1 million into educating Venezuelans about using digital currencies securely.
Economic Reforms
In the latest round of economic reforms, the Venezuelan President increased the minimum wage, the price of petrol, and VAT.
This includes a 3,400% increase in minimum wage and a VAT increase of 4%.
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Petro Coin
Petro was launched in February of this year. Maduro has faith in the coin to bring stability to his nation as he claims it is backed by Venezuela’s oil reserves. However, actual proof of this remains to be seen and the nation has remained divided on the subject since its inception. Even the US went as far as implementing sanctions against the coin.
According to Russ Dallen, a managing partner of Caracas Capital Market, the Petro coin isn’t backed at all, saying:
“They’re setting up a stand on the front porch of Venezuela to sell snake oil that’s essentially backed by nothing. People believe its [sic] backed by oil, but if you read the contract, it’s really not.”
What are your thoughts on the subject?
Featured Image: Deposit Photos/jkraft5
