Venezuelan oil cryptocurrency declared illegal

The Venezuelan Parliament said that the country's President Nicolas Maduro illegally and in violation of the Constitution announced the support of the national cryptocurrency El Petro with oil fields

The National Assembly has said that the digital currency that the Venezuelan government wants to launch is illegal, and parliament opposes the president's decision. Deputy Williams Davila added that public opinion has fallen into the trap of Maduro's promises, and the government simply wants to evade financial sanctions and legitimize illegal transactions.

Decision on the creation of a national cryptocurrency Venezuela El Petro, was first announced by the country's president in December last year. Since then, Maduro has committed more than 5 billion barrels of crude oil to support the new virtual currency, and is also providing mining for El Petro.

Under Maduro's plan, the price of the token would initially be pegged to the cost of a barrel of crude oil and Venezuela's fuel exports, which closed at $59.07 last week. And by mid-January it was planned to issue 100 million Petro.

However, legislators warned investors that even if this new currency is successfully launched, if the president is re-elected, its oil backing may become invalid. The next presidential elections in Venezuela are scheduled for 2018.

In addition, some political scientists doubt the validity of the new currency and consider Petro not a real cryptocurrency, but a corrupt way of selling Venezuelan oil.  

Despite the ban of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro calls on the public to ignore parliament's decisions on the illegality of Petro.

According to news.bitcoin.com