Venezuela to announce the first issuance of the ‘petro’ cryptocurrency

Venezuelan Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said at a press conference broadcast on state TV Thursday, "it is a matter of days before we announce the first issuance of the ‘petro’ cryptocurrency", Bloomberg reports.

Key Points:

According to Rodriguez, the petro will help Venezuela, which has faced increasing diplomatic isolation over President Nicolas Maduro’s crackdown on domestic political opposition, avoid attacks from the international financial system

The petro will be different from bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies because it will be backed by hard assets.

Maduro on Wednesday certified that some 5 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves will be used as financial backing for the petro, according to the nation’s oil ministry. 

That oil can support financial instruments worth $267 billion, the ministry said in the statement.