Venezuela Crude Discount To India, In Return For ‘Petro’

The pre-sale of Petro, the Venezuelan government backed cryptocurrency, has ended, according to an announcement made by the country’s president Nicolas Maduro. Furthermore, Correo del Orinoco, the newspaper which reported the announcement, also stated that the country has raised over $3 billion dollars through the sale of Petro. To facilitate the adoption of Petro, Maduro has also certified 16 crypto exchanges. Maduro hopes that these exchanges will start listing Petro soon. Recently, Venezuela cracked down on crypto exchanges in an operation dubbed Paper Hands.

According to Correo del Orinoco, Maduro made these announcements while participating in Venezuela Power Expo 2018 in Caracas. Maduro is optimistic that the certification of 16 exchanges will lead to an increase in liquidity of Petro in the market. While closing the Petro presale, Maduro sated “To date, the pre-sale of El Petro has obtained 3,338 million dollars.”

Maduro also held a presentation, which shows that the Petro has raised the equivalent of 208.337 billion rubles, 2.744 billion euros, and 21.118 billion yuan. As much as $1 billion raised from the sale of Petro will be spent to revitalize the economy.

The following are the list of cryptocurrency exchanges certified by Venezuela.
• Criptoexchainge
• Criptocapital
• Asesoría Financiaera CA
• Italcambio
• Amberes Coin
• Cave Blockchainge
• Valoratta Casa de Bolsa
• Coinsecure.ve
• Critiaechainge
• Criptolago
• Criptoventraige CA
• Criptoactivo Menets CA
• Criptoactivo Bancar CA
• Criptomundo Casa de Intercambio CA
• Inversiones Financieras 1444 CA
• Criptoactivo Criptoes

None of the exchanges have officially confirmed the list of Petro so far. Notably, Coinsecure, the Indian cryptocurrency exchange, which recently lost about $3.50 million worth 438.318 Bitcoins, is one of the certified cryptocurrency exchanges. Commenting on the certification, Coinsecure CEO Mohit Kalra said

“Venezuela wanted to add Petro as a cryptocurrency on Coinseure, so they can trade Petro against Bitcoin and the rupee.”

Further, Kalra revealed that Venezuela is willing to offer a 30% discount on the purchase of crude oil, if India is willing to pay in Petro. India annually purchases approximately $130 billion worth crude oil. India will find it hard to resist the offer.

The president is also determined to promote the new currency. In addition to the sale of fuel to domestic and international airlines, a paperwork has been signed to create an
“Industrial and Economic Investment Fund in Petro.” Maduro has set aside “$8.50 million Petro equivalent of $510 million for credit loans.”