Venezuela’s government has succeeded in driving the country to the ground with inflation exceeding 1,000,000%, people being forced to eat street animals, and Nicolas Maduro’s nephews being arrested for trying to import 800kg of cocaine into America.
It’s not surprising that Maduro’s United Socialist Party will force Venezuelans into using Petro, a useless cryptocurrency. The Caracas Chronicles reported on Friday that the government had converted pensions of retirees into cryptocurrency.
One reporter described Petro as “the worst investment ever” earlier this year. Petro has been relaunched and launched several times since its initial announcement in February.
It’s not surprising that Venezuelans aren’t keen to adopt the cryptocurrency of their government. It’s not surprising, considering how poorly they have tried to maintain a fiat currency.
The government decided to make Venezuelans use cryptocurrency. This is not a decision that will be easy for anyone. Pensioners discovered that December payments had been withheld and were converted to Petro.
Pointless Petro
They are therefore worthless. Petro is not available for purchase, its value or if it exists at all.
Maduro and his cronies are not new to this kind of behavior. In August, Venezuelan authorities decided to create a new massive border force to stop people leaving the country.
A law was passed that Venezuelans must pay Petro for their passports. It seems unlikely that many people will be able to obtain a new passport, as no one knows how to buy Petros.
Pensioners can, theoretically, convert their Petros into Bolivars to then withdraw the money in fiat. This seems to be a complicated and lengthy process that is designed to make it as bureaucratic, tedious, and complex as possible.
