Investors Would Be Able To Trade Petro Cryptocurrency Only If Purchased In 2018

The local virtual currency created by the Venezuelan government, the Petro, has created discussions in the crypto community and in the financial world. The launch was very controversial and continues creating some irrational positions.

This time, according to a mainstream media outlet in Venezuela known as TeleSUR TV, the Petro can only be traded against other virtual currencies if it was bought before the end of 2018. That means that users will be able to transact it against other cryptos only if they bought it before December 31, 2018.

The decision to create the Petro is not related only to one reason. Venezuela is living a tremendous crisis in which the currency has lost over 99% of its value in the last years and an inflation that could reach 10 million per cent. Individuals were not able to purchase the most basic goods because of the terrible situation that the country is experiencing.

Moreover, countries such as the United States imposed different sanctions to stop the government to keep implementing such devastating policies. In order to avoid these financial restrictions, President Nicolás Maduro decided to launch the Petro. This digital asset is backed by natural reserves that can be found in the country such as gold, diamonds and oil.

According to the official Petro whitepaper, which was released back in February, the intention is to use it for paying taxes, fees and other things such as passport rights.

The original white paper reads as follows:

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela guarantees that it will accept Petro’s as a form of payment of national taxes, fees, contributions and public services, taking as a reference the price of the barrel of the Venezuelan basket of the previous day with a percentage discount of Dv.”

The Petro can be controlled by the government and used for Venezuelans to save money. Some time ago, Maduro launched a Petro savings plan allowing users to purchase 0.01 Petro, equivalent to 39 sovereign bolivars.

At the moment of writing, there are no cryptocurrency exchanges offering the Petro to its users. Nonetheless, it seems that there will be no exchange accepting it or supporting it in the near future if users would not be able to exchange it for other virtual currencies.