The creation of Venezuela’s own currency was announced on December 3, 2017. Now Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has revealed details of the launch.

Venezuela’s new cryptocurrency is called the Petro. According to the president’s official statement, the currency launch is scheduled for the period from February 20 to March 19. A reference price of petroleum coin is 60 USD.

Nicolas Maduro has promised to back the new currency with 5 billion barrels of oil. Thus, currency value will depend on the oil market. In the future, the Petro will also be backed by gold and diamonds.

The president expects that the national cryptocurrency will help Venezuela overcome the current financial blockade and economic crisis. However, Venezuela’s National Assembly has the opposite opinion and declared the oil-backed currency illegal. "This is not a cryptocurrency, this is a forward sale of Venezuelan oil," legislator Jorge Millan said.

In addition, representatives of the US authorities voiced concern about the Petro currency. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Robert Menendez prepared an open letter, in which they asked the Treasury Department about preventing this Venezuelan attempt to evade financial sanctions imposed by Washington.