Venezuela Approves Decree on the Use of Cryptocurrencies

Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly has approved the decree on the use of cryptocurrencies and the country’s new “oil-backed” currency, after repeatedly declaring the Petro illegal. The new currency began its initial coin offering last month as the Venezuelan president continues to strongly push its use.

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Decree on Cryptocurrencies Approved

The Venezuelan National Constituent Assembly (ANC) has approved the draft Constituent Decree on Cryptoassets and the Petro, the country’s government announced last week. The decree was presented to the ANC by Vice President Tareck El Aissami. The Superintendent of Cryptocurrency confirmed:

We are making history with the approval of the Decree on Cryptoassets and the Cryptocurrency El Petro. Nothing can stop the impulse of our country.

According to the vice president’s announcement, “this decree is intended to establish the basis for the management of these alternative mechanisms in financial and commercial activities.”

Sputnik News elaborated, “According to the document approved by the Constituent Assembly, President Nicolás Maduro will have the power to regulate the issuance, organization, and operation of the Petro,” adding that:

The purpose of the decree is to allow the use and exchange of cryptoassets by natural and legal persons, resident or not, in the territory in order to advance the economic development of the nation.

The decree would enter into force once it is published in the National Gazette, according to Cripto Noticias. It “consists of 12 articles in which the legal basis for the launch of [the] Petro and the use of cryptoassets in the Venezuelan national territory are defined, in the same way that the use [of these assets] is guaranteed,” the news outlet detailed.

The ANC has previously declared the Petro illegal and in violation of the country’s constitution. “The Adeco-bourgeois assembly took out a resolution to prevent Venezuela from having the Petro,” President Maduro expressed after the decree was passed, adding that “the Petro belongs to the Venezuelan people.”

Integrating the Petro into Venezuela’s Economy

The Petro supposedly began its initial coin offering (ICO) last month following a pre-sale, during which Maduro claims to have raised roughly $5 billion, but has yet to provide any evidence of doing so. He then announced last week, “In the next few days, I will take stock of the achievement of these 15 days of selling El Petro.”

The Venezuelan government under Maduro’s command has been actively promoting the use of the Petro. On Friday, the Superintendency of Cryptocurrency explained the guidelines for using the new currency to representatives of more than 100 shipping agencies in the country.

In addition, Maduro announced on Friday that ambulances have now been purchased using the Petro. During the reopening of the pediatric system of Rafael Medina Jiménez hospital in Vargas state, he said:

We have received 30 ambulances that we are delivering in La Guaira, Vargas state, and we have achieved [this] through agreements with companies that we have paid with Petro. Here is the key to the new ambulance that Pariata Hospital will have. It is the first ambulance obtained in Petro – I give it to you.

What do you think of Venezuela approving the decree on the use of cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the Venezuelan government.

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