Petro, the Venezuelan cryptocurrency collects over 700 million USD in one day: President Maduro comments on what he called a clear success.
Petro, Venezuelan cryptocurrency backed by oil, it raised 735 million dollars on its first day of presale, as stated publicly by the president Nicolas Maduro.
The Venezuelan president has indeed declared on his own Twitter account the petro token has raised over 4,777 billion Chinese yuan, or 735 million dollars, and that the virtual currency supported by the state "reaffirms its economic sovereignty".
Caracas also confirmed that each unit of the petro is anchored at the price of a barrel of Venezuelan oil, and the regulatory authority added that it hopes that the petro will make investments from Qatar, Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries, as well as from European nations and the United States.
However, there are still many skeptics who even on the first day of pre-sale expressed concern about the ambitions of the cryptocurrency of the country, with some opponents who cite Venezuela's debt problems and the possibility of manipulating primary resources.
Let us remember that Venezuela is currently facing a severe phase of hyperinflation, with the collapse of its "traditional" currency, the Bolivar, and a shortage of food and other basic necessities.
Maduro then said that the petro will serve as a tool for Venezuela to get around Western sanctions. Both the European Union and the United States imposed rather severe economic restrictions on Caracas, as an opposition to a government judged to be autocratic.
