The symbol (stock market symbol: PTR) is a Venezuelan token preminated, based on block chain technology and backed by reserves of various natural resources such as oil, gold, diamonds and gas. Backed by an oil barrier from the Venezuelan crude oil basket. The currency has been the subject of criticism, some of the parties claiming that Petro is not a cryptocurrency because it is not decentralized, and websites like ICOindex have described Petro as a scam.
Fundamental principles.
Among the basic characteristics of Petro, are:
- State support for reserves of natural resources such as oil, gas, gold and diamonds.
- Possibility of international transactions without intermediaries.
- The registration of digital transactions of the currency is made through the Observation Block of Venezuela, a body attached to the Ministry of University Education, Science and Technology, receives information from OnixCoin, a Venezuelan company that founded its own cryptocurrency in the past.
- According to article 4 of Decree No. 3.196 published in the Official Gazette, a Petro is equivalent to a "purchase-sale contract for one (1) barrel of oil from the Venezuelan crude oil basket or any product (raw material) that decides the nation ". On December 27, 2017, five billion barrels of oil from the Ayacucho I Block of the Orinoco Oil Belt were approved as a backup for Petro. Gold and diamonds from the Orinoco mining arch will also be certified.
- Maintains encrypted mathematical algorithms that do not allow the interception of agents external to yours.
- Electronic transactions are made without intercessors, are immediate and have no commissions.
- Can be exchanged through the virtual exchange houses. It can be used for payments related to the national government, such as: taxes, obligations, taxes, contributions and national public services.
- It is a preliminary critical review, the following issues and the control of all currencies in an initial offer of currency (ICO) auction style. The Petro may be mined by citizens with the use of common computers without special features.
- The sale of the product is carried out by means of index cards or digital cards, which are exchanged for the future and which are available in the electronic exchange networks of the entire world.
Reference in other currencies
Since August 21, 2018, the Central Bank of Venezuela publishes every banking day the reference in other freely convertible currencies.
Value as an account unit
On August 23, 2018, the SUDEBAN through circular No. SIB-II-GGR-GNP instructed the financial institutions that make up the Venezuelan banking system to adopt Petro as a unit of account as well as to reflect the indicator in its web portals. referential of the value of Petro with the sovereign bolivar. The different banks publish the value of the "Petro" unit of account, based on what was published by the Central Bank of Venezuela.Since October 1, 2018 it is official to use it as unit of account for international operations.
Value of the Petro account unit
Date Sovereign Bolivar
09/12/2018 3 600,00
History
On March 3, 2009, the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, during a tour of the Middle East and Asia to increase oil prices, raised the idea of creating an international currency called Petro, and that was supported mainly by the oil reserves of Some countries of the world members of OPEC and criticized the break of the United States with respect to the gold standard. In April 2016, a cryptocurrency backed by gold was issued: DigixDAO. In September 2017, Wilmar Castro Soteldo, Minister of Agriculture and Lands of Venezuela, supported the creation of state digital currencies that were based on the gold standard or other resources of the various countries of the world to "preserve the integrity of humanity" , rescue the Venezuelan economy and end the hegemony of the US dollar.
Dante Rafael Rivas Quijada, member of the Currency Auctions Committee of DICOM, on September 27, 2017 receives, through his Twitter account, a proposal from José Ángel Álvarez Mayora, President of the National Association of Cryptocurrencies, to conduct a currency auction in cryptocurrencies. This public proposal dated August 31, 2017, and from that digital conversation is established on October 4, 2017 to dictate the "Intensive Cryptocurrency Symposium" which was moderated by José Ángel Álvarez Mayora in the BCV facilities. The symposium was attended by Ángel Salazar CEO of Onixcon; Gabriel Jiménez executive director of TheSocialUS; Jaime Sandoval and Carlos López. In this forum, José Ángel Álvarez formally presents his initiative for the state to create a legal framework for cryptocurrencies, an ICO is created by PDVSA; finalized the event with the video of Hugo Chávez Frías where he declares to the press for the first time, on March 30, 2009, about his idea of the El Petro currency.
Chronology.
On December 3, 2017, President Nicolás Maduro announced the creation of the currency after more than one year fifty Venezuelans worked on the matter. Along with the announcement of the new digital currency, it also informed about the formal creation of the Blockchain Observatory of Venezuela, attached to the Ministry of University Education, Science and Technology, which would be the institutional, political and legal base and would be responsible for the registration of digital transactions.
In the Official Gazette of Venezuela N °. 41,296, dated December 8, 2017, the creation of the Superintendence of Cryptocurrency and Related Activities was established, which will control and monitor the behavior and evolution of Petro. For the first issue of the Petro, it has an endorsement of 267 billion dollars. Its entry into the market will be through the Superintendence of Cryptoactives and Related Activities through an initial auction or direct assignment.
On January 5, 2018, Nicolás Maduro announced the issuance of one hundred million Petros and reported that his white paper will be presented on January 14. Carlos Vargas, superintendent of Petro, assured that progressive sales will be made. He also assured that it is a partially pre-minted currency, so that subsequent issues will be mineable.
Dante Rafael Rivas Quijada, member of the Currency Auctions Committee of DICOM, on September 27, 2017 receives, through his Twitter account, a proposal from José Ángel Álvarez Mayora, President of the National Association of Cryptocurrencies, to conduct a currency auction in cryptocurrencies. This public proposal dated August 31, 2017, and from that digital conversation is established on October 4, 2017 to dictate the "Intensive Cryptocurrency Symposium" which was moderated by José Ángel Álvarez Mayora in the BCV facilities. The symposium was attended by Ángel Salazar CEO of Onixcon; Gabriel Jiménez executive director of TheSocialUS; Jaime Sandoval and Carlos López. In this forum, José Ángel Álvarez formally presents his initiative for the state to create a legal framework for cryptocurrencies, an ICO is created by PDVSA; finalized the event with the video of Hugo Chávez Frías where he declares to the press for the first time, on March 30, 2009, about his idea of the El Petro currency.
On January 5, 2018, Nicolás Maduro announced the issuance of one hundred million Petros and reported that his white paper will be presented on January 14. Carlos Vargas, superintendent of Petro, said that progressive sales will be made. He also assured that it is a partially pre-minted currency, so that subsequent issues will be mineable.
On January 9, 2018, the National Assembly debated the Petro, declaring the first and next issuance of the cryptocurrency null and void. The deputy Alfonso Marquina said: "Petro is not a cryptocurrency. Represents a forward purchase / sale contract whose underlying asset is one barrel of oil. Tomorrow, the AN will declare its emission null and void, therefore it would not be demandable from the republic. »The Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela maintains the declaration that the National Assembly is in" contempt "and its acts are of" absolute nullity ".
On January 12, 2018 Nicolás Maduro proposed the use of Petro in the member countries of ALBA and Petrocaribe as a "measure of economic integration".
On January 16, 2018, the US Treasury Department warned US investors that using Petro could cause legal problems. On January 29, the president of the National Association of Cryptocurrencies (ASONACRIP), José Ángel Álvarez, declared that the US Treasury Department is trying to politicize the petroleum issue. Álvarez also raised the issue of farms to undermine Petro in the schools throughout Venezuela through micro-courses of 4 months to train young people from 18 to 20 years as "digital workers".
On January 30, 2018, in Council of Ministers No. 311, the national executive announced the publication of the white paper containing the conditions and functions of the cryptocurrency. Along with this announcement was also reported about the new official web domain: «www.elpetro.gob.ve».
On February 1, 2018, the new website of the Superintendence of Cryptoactives and Related Venezuelan Activities (Supcriptove) with the web domain "www.supcriptove.gob.ve" came online. Likewise, taking into account that in the White Paper published online, Specifies clearly that the Petro will be used as a means of exchange to acquire goods or services, fiduciary money and other cryptoactives, it was also announced that the national government will accept it as a form of contributions, taxes and fees according to the price of the oil barrel of the Venezuelan basket of the immediately preceding day.
On February 20, 2018 the official publication of the Buyer's Manual was made, in its Beta version 5.1.69. It was also announced the opening of the Petros acquisition process. On the other hand, the Nem Foundation, through a message on its official Twitter account, declares that they are open to all organizations and individuals who wish to use their Blockchain and confirm that the Venezuelan government intends to use its technology . Additionally, they make clear that they abstain from any political support, only technological support.
On February 22, 2018 President Maduro reported the collection of US $ 735 million through El Petro and took the opportunity to announce a new cryptocurrency backed by gold: the "Petro Oro".
On February 25, 2018 the lawyer and Doctor of Law Luis Britto García, in a television interview conducted by the journalist José Vicente Rangel, warns about the possible dangers and benefits of the Petro. It emphasizes, to finalize its declarations, about the danger of "exchange bicycles" due to the lack of adequate legislation.
On March 19, 2018 the White House, by means of an executive order, prohibited US citizens or persons in its territory from acquiring or trading any digital currency or digital asset issued by the Government of Venezuela. The measure entered into force, retroactively, from January 9, 2018. As a form of repression towards the Venezuelan people and deepening an economic blockade that maintains this nation to the countries of the world.
On March 20, 2018, former members of the judicial branch grouped in the Supreme Court of Justice abroad decided to annul Decree number 3.196, in which the creation of the cryptocurrency was agreed. It should be noted that all these members of the judiciary are fugitives from the Venezuelan justice system in a political asylum.
On March 22, 2018 President Maduro issued financial statements: the Petro received purchase intentions for more than 5 billion US dollars. The newspaper El Nacional summed up the president's long intervention: with Petros, public transport, furniture and real estate, taxes from exporting companies could be paid; tour operators may charge in said digital currency and the establishment of economic zones of circulation of the Petro as an exchange currency (the islands of Margarita, Los Roques, Paraguaná and Ureña-San Antonio).
On March 27, 2018 the Bitfinex exchange house, to avoid sanctions by the US government, declined to do business either presently or in the future with the PTR. These sanctions apply to US companies, institutions and individuals that decide to negotiate with Venezuela through this cryptocurrency.
On April 9 in the Official Gazette (issue) Extraordinary No. 6,370, the "Constituent Decree on cryptoactives and sovereign cryptocurrency Petro" was enacted, which legally recognizes not only El Petro but also any other cryptoactive. In this regard, Article 10 opens the possibility for any natural or legal person, public or private that intends to create its own cryptocurrency, to publish a White Paper explaining the operating conditions and with what it is supported. In that same article, he specifies that the National Executive will be in charge of publishing El Petro's White Paper. Article 3 empowers all the powers on the regulation and use of cryptoactives to the National Executive, besides legally defining the term "exhange" and "virtual wallets". Article 6 creates the Superintendence of the Venezuelan Cryptocurrency and Related Activities and article 7 the Criptoactives Treasury. A Registration System is established in article 8 for virtual miners and anyone who intervenes in virtual intermediation. The state entities must adapt their bureaucratic processes to accept the cryptoactives as of August 9, 2018, however, article 2 requires that they must be complied with as soon as possible due to the rapid development of the technology. All the regulations and control of the cryptoactives and of Venezuela are delegated to the National Executive. Article 5 is devoted, briefly, to describing and regulating the origin and operation of El Petro.
On July 4, 2018, a group of professors from the University of Carabobo warned at the II International Congress of Research and Innovation Faces 2018 that cryptoeconomics will have a future in Venezuela if legal attention is paid to the issue of tax collection.
On July 25, 2018, the Monetary Reconversion was again postponed to establish the "sovereign bolivar" and it was also reported that the new currency will be "anchored to Petro." Such measure will come into effect as of August 20, 2018.
- On August 14, 2018, the President of the Republic, in a meeting with the economic cabinet, announced that as of August 20, 2018, Petro will be the second accounting unit of the nation.
On August 24, 2018, SUDEBAN instructed banks to manage Petro as a unit of account.
On September 21, 2018, more than fifteen cryptocurrency exchange houses in Venezuela received the necessary guidelines so that beginning October 1, 2018, the Petro will begin to function as an international exchange currency.
On October 1, 2018, the sale of Petros with Bolívares Soberanos was announced as of November 5, 2018.
In order to be approved as a Constitutional Law, the draft law on the Integral System of Cryptoactives was submitted on October 1, 2018 to the National Constituent Assembly.
On October 15, 2018, Petros 20 million were budgeted for the creation of the Fund for the Development of Productive Regions.
Presale
Petro's pre-sale began on February 20, 2018 at 08:30 a.m. (Venezuela time, -04: 00 GMT) with 38,400,000 available tokens with a reference value of USD 60.00, which is the price of the Venezuelan basket in the second week of January 2018. The closing of the pre-sale ended on March 19, 2018 at 23:59:59 pm (Venezuela time, -04: 00 GMT).
Although its launch date was February 20, 2018 and President Nicolás Maduro announced that there were purchases in Petro for more than 3,300 million dollars, as of August 30, 2018 there was no evidence that any entity had issued some Petro, or that it had been actively negotiated.
Initial offer
The initial offer will begin on March 20, 2018 at 08:30 a.m. (Venezuela time, -04: 00 GMT) with 44,000,000 Petros available for sale with a reference sale price of USD 60, the sale of the initial offer will close until the Petros of the initial issue are exhausted.
Legal context
The Organic Law of Hydrocarbons in force, in its article 9,103 specifies that the primary activities (exploration, extraction, collection, transport and initial storage all this in Venezuelan territory, including the works that are required) are reserved to the State, all according to the article 302 of the current National Constitution. According to article 8 (Chapter II, Section II) the "Ministry of Energy and Mines", as it was called this entity at the time of the enactment of the law, has competence in everything related to and related to the administration of hydrocarbons, including oil futures contracts104, considered a commodity worldwide by all countries and kingdoms.
However, the property in itself of the oil fields cannot be included in such future sales and are expressly prohibited by article 3 of the cited law:
"OF THE PROPERTY OF THE DEPOSITS Article 3: The existing hydrocarbon deposits in the national territory, whatever their nature, including those that are under the bed of the territorial sea, in the continental shelf, in the exclusive economic zone and within of the national borders, belong to the Republic and are public property, therefore, inalienable imprescriptible. "
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, according to its constitution and its laws, is the owner and sovereign to extract, trade today and also to future always according to WTO rules of which Venezuela is a full member since 1995, and export all its hydrocarbons according to be convenient to their interests, making the reservation that the territory, works and devices (everything that is not hydrocarbon) that are of express prohibition in their alienation both to present and in the time to come.
Founded jurisprudence, on November 1, 2018 the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela issued a judgment that agreed to the payment of compensation in Petros in order to protect the value when it finally cancels and extinguishes said debt.
Social context
Main article: Economic crisis in Venezuela of 2018.
Currently Venezuela is in a multi-purpose crisis in which there is a shortage of food, drugs, cash, citizen insecurity, low internal production, among others and is under hyperinflation of more than 1000%. The Venezuelan government defends this currency to improve the country's economy and evade US government sanctions, including the restriction of transactions with debt securities and shares issued by both the Venezuelan government and Petroleum de Venezuela (PDVSA), the company state oil company.
The growth that several cryptocurrencies have had, making use of open source, has marked the way for the digitization of assets. These systems use a technology that does not require human intervention for its operation, but can be updated or improved during its life cycle. The Venezuelan government saw an opportunity to start financing the economy based on untapped natural resources, maintaining its strong control over all the elements that interact economically.
President Nicolás Maduro instructed to create "cryptocurrency farms", even in Venezuelan prisons. He also called young Venezuelans familiar with cryptocurrencies to participate in mining farms in coordination with the state program Chamba Juvenil. The Venezuelan State created the Unique Registry of Digital Mining with which they want to know "who they are, where they are and what equipment they are using" Venezuelan miners. Those miners who do not register will suffer legal consequences. The Portuguese company JP Sa Couto could work on the development of software for Petros mining equipment. Each Petros holder will have his own virtual wallet that will be under his absolute responsibility both in handling and custody.
Unlike the process of introducing the Russian state digital currency where other cryptocurrencies will be outlawed, in Venezuela it seeks to control and tax the mining activity of cryptocurrencies, after the Venezuelan State persecuted several miners in Venezuela. However, Carlos Vargas, the Petro superintendent, acknowledged that state officials extorted and illegally seized electronic equipment from miners and that they must communicate through the social networks of the superintendence of the cryptocurrency for their return.
An important difference with respect to other digital currencies is the backing of large-scale natural wealth at the hands of a state. Investors do not need to buy and store natural resources directly, which represents a high cost of physical transfer, the costs of intermediaries are reduced with a digital currency that reduces costs of transfers and commissions tending to zero, and democratizes financial movements with the reduction of costs. National exchange houses will allow Petros to be exchanged for its equivalent in other cryptocurrencies or bolivars, while international exchange houses will not only allow exchange for other cryptocurrencies but also for different types of fiduciary money.
critics
Several opposition leaders have criticized the digital currency. The parliamentarian Juan Guaidó described the Petro as a "stew-coin" that aims to distract the Venezuelan population in the middle of the crisis that crosses the country. José Guerra, president of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly, said: "How is that a cryptocurrency using oil reserves as a guarantee if they can not be sold? The Petro currency starts badly ". On January 9, 2018 the National Assembly, an organization that according to the judiciary is in contempt, discussed the Petro and declared void the first and next issuance of the cryptocurrency. The deputy Alfonso Marquina said: "The Petro is not a cryptocurrency. Represents a forward purchase / sale contract whose underlying asset is one barrel of oil. Tomorrow the AN will declare its emission null and therefore it would not be required of the Republic. »
Omar Vázquez Heredia affirmed that the Petro is "neoliberal, extractivist and entreguista" since it represents according to him a "de facto privatization" and denied that it was a cryptocurrency since it is managed by a State. On the other hand, Carlos Hermoso, general secretary of the Red Flag party, believes that it is possible that Petro will help the country's economy, especially considering the economic nature of the country's energy for virtual mining; However, from a labor theory of value, he affirmed that virtual currencies do not need material support since the same mining work provides them with value and that Petro has served as a "smoke pot" up to now.
Sean Walsh, of Redwood City Ventures, an investment firm in the chain of blocks and bitcoins that have a behavioral relationship with the population, then a buzzword like 'cryptocurrency' is not going to change that behavior. "Marshall Swatt, founder of Coinsetter, ensures that in Venezuela there is no stable legal system and therefore there are no authentic guarantees Yazan Barghuthi of Jibrel Network criticized the lack of credibility, but because it is a country where the official currency, the bolivar, "collapsed" Venezuelan economist Luis Vicente León said that for the government to regain confidence in order to apply power The Venezuelan economist Ricardo Haussman said that both the issuance and the use of the funds must be approved by the National Assembly of Venezuela.
The economist of the Ecoanalítica organization Jean Paul Leidenz thinks that the decision to form his own chain of blocks, a difference of other cryptocurrencies, could instill distrust among the possible investors. The first white paper was signed by President Maduro on January 30, 2018, the content of the use of Ethics technology and the first day of sales, February 20, change of blockchain technology to NEM. The reason for the creation of this cryptocurrency has been to avoid the changes of time in the search for the economic freedoms of the Venezuelan people who have to deal with the exchange control.
Although the Venezuelan government is not supported by the US government, the Madrid government has not mentioned the possibility of selling oil in the future. oil with a paper that has no backup.
On March 19, 2018, the president of the United States, Donald Trump signed a company for US citizens and people in the territory of the United States, to conduct a digital currency issue activity, for or on behalf of the government de Venezuela The Trump Executive Order makes reference to Petro and prohibits all transactions related to it as of January 9, 2018.
The Venezuelan Petro has been cataloged like this by the ICOindex site, and the Bitfinex exchange has denied having any intention of negotiating with both Petro and any Venezuelan cryptocurrency.
Defenses
The American journalist and filmmaker Max Keizer, who since 2010 predicts that criptodivisas will fall Western empires and financial monopolies, said that the Petro initiative is a good way to fight against US imperialism and is "an excellent way to start the break of that colonial chain "and evade sanctions; nevertheless, he assured that his success depends on if it is designed and handled correctly. Keizer hopes to combat hyperinflation with the design of a deflationary currency.
Garrick Hileman, an economist and researcher at Cambridge, considered that Petro is viable "if it is adequately armed" and could solve some of Venezuela's problems; however, it recommended having an independent custodian that guarantees in non-payment situations that the raw materials reach the creditors.
The economist and National Science Prize winner Víctor Álvarez indicate that Petro would be on the way to a monetary reform for a new digital monetary cone since it will be used first as payment to suppliers and contractors, payment of public payrolls and payment of taxes.
For Leonardo Galindo, an economist, he considers that the Petro is an anti-inflationary currency because, contrary to the circulation of traditional money, cryptocurrencies arise from the population, reach the banking system and then reach the central banks.
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