A recent decision by the Venezuelan authorities now mandates citizens intending to pay passport fees to do so using Petro, the state owned cryptocurrency.
This decision was made public by the nation’s Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez in a press conference. Rodriguez announced that starting from Monday October 08 2018, all passport related fees will be paid in petro; 2 petros for a new passport and 1 petro for renewal.
The dwindling fortunes of Venezuela’s national currency, the Bolivar has been well documented. This comes amidst an economy that has been turned on its head by what many believe to be as a result of the mismanagement of the nation’s natural gas resources.
Over the years, citizens of the South American country have been observed to embark on a capital flight, choosing bitcoin and other viable altcoins as alternatives. These citizens see such moves as a flight to safety in other to escape the fatality of being stuck with a failing national currency.
After several attempts by the government to resist the influx of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies into its financial ecosystem, it appears to have thrown in the towel by initiating its own official cryptocurrency, Petro.
The creation of Petro is targeted at combating the effects of rampant inflation and a failing economy, as the cryptocurrency would enable the circumvention of capital control.
Amidst several controversies, the Venezuelan government has continued with its plan to commence a public sale of petro on November 05 2018. Being backed by its natural gas reserves, the sale with give investors an opportunity to own a piece of such reserves.
Iyke Aru is a seasoned author and educator in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. He has been in the business of crypto content writing for many years with thousands of his articles across several platforms on the internet. Iyke is based in Nigeria where he stands out as one of the most informed and credible figures in the cryptocurrency industry. Outside blockchain and crypto, you will most likely catch Iyke playing or discussing football with friends and family.
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