Venezuelan authorities have announced the abandonment of the national cryptocurrency Petro, which was launched six years ago to circumvent US sanctions. It was never fully released but was involved in a corruption scandal, according to reports portal Tech Xplore cites news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).
All crypto wallets on the Patria platform, the only site where Petro can be traded, will be closed on Monday, January 15. The remaining digital money is converted into bolivars, the official currency of Venezuela.
Perto cryptocurrency was introduced in 2018. Its cost was provided by the state’s oil reserves and was $60 per unit. But Venezuelans have not found ways to use it other than to pay for some government services. For example, Petro was fined for traffic violations, but it was impossible to pay them with cryptocurrency.
Later, in 2023, a corruption scandal emerged due to irregularities in the management of funds obtained from oil transactions using crypto assets. The case led to the resignation of Oil Minister Tarek El Aissami and the detention of dozens of officials, including senior management of Venezuelan crypto regulator Sunacrip.
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