Bitcoin Forum

Embattled Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, ahead of a contentious May 20 national election, has launched a ‘youth bank,’ funded by the state-backed cryptocurrency Petro. Aimed at appealing to its younger population, 20 million petros are to be allocated. 

Petro is a closely watched experiment for countries feeling the sting of sanctions meted out by the likes of industrial powers such as the United States, sanctions the once-oil rich government routinely points to for its current economic ills. Mr. Maduro seems to have worked closely with Russian operatives to bring about a first: a state backed, oil backed cryptocurrency. The country’s current economy is in shambles, and daily horrors abound, flooding headlines.

Mr. Maduro noted over $1 billion in petro will be used to prop up the new bank, a bank which will function in ways that are unclear as of this writing. And though petro is itself a divisive issue among branches of the government, such as the legislature, Mr. Maduro has quipped he’s looking into yet another state crypto launch, this time backed by gold. For its part, the Trump administration has openly ordered United States citizens and businesses to not participate in any aspect of petro.

this is exactly what other governments need to be doing , however this situation might not become a text book example but a lot can be achieved by the creation of these institutions as it can redistribute wealth and bring life to the "local" economy as there will be more money to spend thus increasing commerce , employment , poverty reduction among other things.

i do believe that there currently are a lot of eyes on Venezuela watching it closely to see what they do and what their decisions lead to regarding the first government issued cryptocurrency that became big. it is like the experiment everyone is watching so that they can learn from their mistakes and if the "experiment" was successful then they all repeat it with better results.
in any case Venezuela will still be the first and can potentially become the biggest one in this field. specially since they have been educating their people. it is not just creating a coin and telling people "come use it" they have been actually teaching them about cryptocurrencies, what they are, how they work, how to use them,...

The digital crypto bank will be funded with 20 million Petro - the government's crypto - which according to Maduro is about $ 1.2 billion. Petro's pre-sale was held from February 20 to March 10 and has made $ 3.8 billion from 127 participating countries. This initiative raises international questions about the role of national cryptocurrency in the world economy, in part to the current Tay-part of Venezuela.

Also I read that last week, Venezuela had offered India a 30 percent discount on crude oil purchases. The discount, however, would be applicable only if India makes the payment in Venezuela’s own Cryptocurrency – PETRO CRYPTOCURRENCY. Loved this news!

Absolutely! A lot of countries are now watching this experiment and probably will replicate the same if it becomes a success. Venezuela's economy has been struggling since years even after sitting on the world's largest petroleum reserve. The President is trying to get that back on track and cryptocurrency is playing a big role in it. If it becomes successful then it will make a great use case of cryptocurrency and probably many other governments will be convinced in adopting them.

The Venezuelan president is a stupid person if he thinks he can raise the economy of his country without US assistance :(

Atleast the president of venezuelan make the first step to make a move without somebody's help.  They can ask assistance in other countries like RUSSIA, US, CHINA,  or any other rich country. 

If the venezuelan president is stupid then how much more are you?  Idiot?  He study for how many years and is making a way to help the country and you mr. Veterock doesnt support that way,  so better shut your mouth.  Disrespectful.

OP do you have a link to this news/article?

Venezuela saw the news some time ago, saying it wanted to withdraw from the cryptocurrency? Why does it want to fund youth banks now?

the project about petro coin has been pending for months and there hasn't been any proper response about them, or to show at least they're working. do you think how far it will go?

That's great news. If they are really able to implement the plans, it will greatly raise the economy of Venezuela. And of course, the demand for this coin will grow, which will be equated to an oil asset. In this situation, America will not be able to influence, because it has no influence on this country. Sanctions will or not we will see, but for now I am glad that the government of rich countries are doing the right thing.

i think you may be confusing this with another similar named altcoin (or possibly this is just a bot comment that i am taking to). in any case Petro has been a working cryptocurrency which is centralized and issued by the Venezuelan government for months now.

As I remember from news everybody called Maura as idiot and his politic as well, but look, the guy is trying something to its nation, especially for young people. I guess if the bank will work well other governments will take it as the example and create something similar on their territories.

One US dollar costs 2 million bolivars, and inflation exceeded 24,600%. The threshold of hyperinflation, when the currency depreciates for a month by 50%.
The government is doing experiments.

Venezuelans need all the help they can get. I hope cryptocurrency will be of big help. It has been to a lot of people in this forum.