Russia reportedly helped Venezuela launch its petro cryptocurrency to skirt US sanctions


Venezuela’s state-backed cryptocurrency, the petro, is a “half-hidden joint venture” between Venezuelan and Russian officials and businessmen, according to a new report by Time. The petro, which first went on presale on February 20th, is the world’s first state-backed cryptocurrency. Its value is tied to the country’s oil reserves. Sources told Time that the aim of the petro was to erode the power of US sanctions. Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has previously referred to the petro as “kryptonite” and the US government as “Superman.”

An executive at a Russian state bank told Time that senior advisers in the Kremlin oversaw the development of the petro and that Russian president Vladimir Putin signed off on the project in 2017....

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via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2puEVAx"

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