Blockchain experts warned earlier that the currency is unlikely to attract significant investment. Venezuelan opposition leaders believe the deal is actually illegal debt financing, bypassing the country’s opposition-led legislature. The U.S. Treasury Department also warned that participation of foreign-funded institutions in the financing of oil currency may violate the sanctions agreement last year.
Maduro did not disclose the details of the initial investors. He said that tourism, gasoline sales, and some crude oil transactions can be done using coins.
Maduro said: “Today, a cryptocurrency is born, which helps fight Superman.” He uses “superhuman” to refer to the United States. Maduro stood by a cryptocurrency miner to deliver a televised speech.
The official website of the Petroleum Coin released a guide on Tuesday telling users how to set up a virtual wallet to save the cryptocurrency. Petroleum coins will start sales to the public next month.
Carlos Vargas, head of cryptocurrencies in Venezuela, said last week that the government expects the sale of oil coins to attract investors in Turkey, Qatar, the United States and Europe.
According to information Maduro has provided in recent months, the size of the issue of petrol coins will reach 100 million tokens, worth more than 6 billion U.S. dollars. However, Venezuelan officials did not provide the latest price information on Tuesday.
Maduro said that the value of each coin will be equivalent to a barrel of Venezuelan crude.
Consultants working for the Venezuelan government had previously suggested that 38.4% of the coins should be sold in a private auction and a discount rate of 60% should be provided.
In addition, according to the white paper provided by the Venezuelan government, the coins will not become a token in the Ethereum network.
Source: Reuters
