Get Set for Petro, Venezuela’s Cryptocurrency Answer to Bitcoin

(Bloomberg) -- In a new twist to the cryptocurrency craze, Venezuela, the South American oil giant in default on some of its dollar bonds, plans to issue its own digital unit, dubbed the petro.

"It is a matter of days before we announce the first issuance of the ‘petro' cryptocurrency," Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said at a press conference broadcast on state TV Thursday. 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, according to Rodriguez.

The petro will be different from bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies because it will be backed by hard assets, Rodriguez said. 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. By comparison, bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has a market capitalization of about $246 billion, according to coinmarketcap.com.

Bitcoin itself has been a popular store of value in countries with rudimentary financial systems and depressed economies. Zimbabwe saw bitcoin prices spike to double the international rate last month after a military takeover. 

Read more here about bitcoin's lure in global hotspots.

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To contact the reporters on this story: Jose Orozco in Mexico City at jorozco8@bloomberg.net, Christopher Anstey in Tokyo at canstey@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Andrew Janes

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