Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has declared all flights out of the country must use the oil-backed petro cryptocurrency to pay for fuel.
In his annual speech to the Venezuelan Constituent Assembly, Maduro announced the state-owned oil company, PDVSA, would only accept petro for fuel sold to airlines.
"I decree the sale of all fuel sold by the PDVSA for planes operating international routes be made in petros from now on," he said.
It's uncertain whether the new restrictions apply exclusively to the capital's Simón Bolívar International Airport, or whether airlines flying from other airports in the country will be targeted, too.
It's not clear if the rules will only apply to Venezuelan airlines or include international carriers.
Airlines will be able to purchase fuel using a PetroCard that can convert international currencies, including the U.S. dollar, into petro for payment.
In his speech, Maduro also declared that government authorities would only accept the petro for document service fees, including passport applications.
When the government announced it was launching a cryptocurrency backed by the country's vast oil reserves, it hoped the petro could become a new means of payment to help businesses bypass U.S.-imposed sanctions.
Despite Maduro's hopes to make it as widespread as the bolívar, the government said in November that only 400 businesses in the country accepted the petro.
Maduro previously ordered PDVSA to convert a percentage of its sales and purchases into the petro in early 2018.
Venezuela's Maduro: Airlines Must Use Petros to Pay for Fuel
pubblicato su Jan 15, 2020
by Coindesk | pubblicato su Coinage
Coinage
Notizie recenti
Vedi tutti
Blockchain Bites: Bitcoin's Run, Uniswap's Hemorrhaging Value, Anchorage's Banking Bid
Bitcoin is nearing all-time highs in price and market cap last set three years ago.
Japan's megabanks to lead experiment with digital yen
We have, in order, Cheese Bank with a $3.3 million theft, Akropolis with its $2 million loss, Value DeFi with a whopping $6 million exploit and finally Origin Protocol's loss of $7 million.
Number of new Bitcoin addresses spikes amid growing FOMO
Japan's three largest banks, as part of a group of 30 private sector actors, are set to collaborate on an experiment with a digital yen.
Not just Wall Street: Quant trader explains why Bitcoin price is going up
Sam Trabucco, a quantitative trader at Alameda Research, believes four general factors are pushing up the price of Bitcoin.