Venezuela’s El Petro Gathers Momentum and close to 1 Million Miners

Over 860,000 Venezuelans have signed up to start mining the South American country’s very own cryptocurrency, dubbed the “Petro.”

Venezuela’s oldest newspaper, El Impulso, reported that registration “is an essential requirement” for citizens to gain “access to the Petro.”

Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Jorge Rodriguez added that those who sign up will also be able to purchase other digital currencies recognized by the government.

The Registry of Cryptocurrency Miners, which was launched by Venezuela’s Superintendence of Cryptocurrencies and Related Activities, will remain open until Jan. 21, and is the only portal by which mine farmers can access the new cryptocurrency.

The Superintendency, as well as the Blockchain Observatory, will regulate how the Petro functions. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has also backed the Petro with 5 billion of barrels of oil reserves, according to Bitcoin.com.

“This is going to allow us to move forward to new ways of international financing for the country’s economic and social development,” Maduro said during his weekly television program broadcast on public media outlets.

Does this mean we now have a sovereign currency backed with oil? Maduro has vowed to back the currency with gold and diamonds as well.

TelesurTV continues:

Maduro’s attempts to further throw off the shackles of U.S. dollar hegemony come amid the spectacular rise of bitcoin – as well as multiple offshoots of the cryptocurrency – which have gained traction in the mainstream investment world despite the shocks that cryptocurrencies would undergo if regulators were to begin scrutinizing them. Source

Will this new cryptocurrency bring the market down and crash other cryptocurrencies? Will it move forward and continue gathering steam until the rest of the world catches up? Will this be the catalyst that drives the central banksters out of their minds and force their hand to begin a full-frontal-attack on cryptocurrencies as a whole? My guess is we will find out within a couple weeks time, if not a lot sooner.