Venezuela Petro cryptocurrency: Lldemaro Villarroel, the Venezuelan Minister of Habitat and Housing, just announced that the Venezuelan government is planning on using the national cryptocurrency Petro to house the homeless, Criptotendencia reported yesterday.
The project will be called ‘Great Mission for Venezuela Housing‘ (GMVV) and the Venezuelan government will be fully funding it. GMVV aims to provide quality housing to the homeless.
Great Mission for Venezuela Housing
According to the GMVV website, the government has built more than 2 million houses to date. Villaroel states that 33 companies have teamed together to start tests on the construction process.
Villarroel told the press:
“Together with the governors, we are reviewing the plans that we will begin in the second quarter, in this second quarter GMVV will have an injection of financial resources, which this year will be protected and established with [the] Petro.”
The president of Venezuela, Nicola Maduro, approved the use of 75 billion bolivars (USD $750,000) and 909 Petros to build the new housing units. Maduro adds that the oil-backed cryptocurrency offers many benefits that represent a protective shield for the housing construction.
>> President Trump vs. the Petro Coin
Declining Bolivars
The country has been under major scrutiny for the Venezuela Petro cryptocurrency. The country is going through a major recession and many feel its use of the Petro was a way to get countries to pay for its bail-out.
Earlier this year, the Venezuelan government said it could charge for exports in the oil-backed cryptocurrency and even offered India a 30% discount if they paid in Petros. Ultimately, India rejected the proposal.
When the Petro was first introduced, the Trump Administration signed sanctions against the coin and restricted US banks from purchasing Venezuelan debt.
Is the Venezuelan government trying to con countries into buying in by using it to partially fund the homeless housing project? Clearly, the government isn’t using only Petros as currency. We shall see.
Featured image: sciencemag.org
