Russia Keeps Venezuelan Cryptocurrency Petro’s Approval On Hold

By Debarun Gupta

The struggle to bring Petro into international recognition is still very much in motion, but it seems that the cryptocurrency introduced by the authoritative regime of President Maduro still has a very long way to go before that happens. Venezuela’s close allies are still showing signs of a reluctance to accept them.

Russia is yet to have a formal discussion with the government of Venezuela regarding the acceptance of Petro in international trade, according to a recent report by the Russian news portal Ria Novosti.

In a statement made to the Russian press, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said,

“Representatives of our tax service, the Central Bank, remained and got acquainted with the cryptocurrency, which they (Venezuela – ed.) Are now introducing. But no more than that. As for calculations, there is no such thing yet.”

Russia has been strengthening its diplomatic ties with Venezuela in recent years, at a time when most of the Western community is criticizing President Maduro’s dictatorial regime. An independent investigation by Time magazine into the issue shed light on the Russian Federation’s secret involvement in the development of Petro.

This, however, does not necessarily imply that the country will accept Venezuela’s disputed cryptocurrency as a replacement for the traditional fiat currency, which lines up with Russia’s shrewd foreign policy.

President Maduro has actively promoted the use of petro as a decentralized alternative currency that allows direct trade between parties, bypassing the unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. government.

In early November this year, Venezuela’s oil minister Rafael Quevedo expressed the country’s interest in proposing to OPEC for the use of Petros as a substitute for U.S. Dollars. At present, the United States of America is not a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Many countries have echoed Venezuela’s sentiment in breaking the dependence on the U.S. Dollar as the primary currency used in international trade, but it cannot be confirmed as of now if the way to do so is through the endorsement of national cryptocurrencies, among which Petro is a frontrunner.

Debarun Gupta

Debarun is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and writing when he’s not watching cat videos on YouTube.

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