Petro (token)

The petro (₽), or petromoneda, launched in February 2018, was a crypto token issued by the government of Venezuela.

Announced in December 2017, it was supposed to be backed by the country's oil and mineral reserves, and was intended to supplement Venezuela's plummeting hard bolívar currency, as a means of circumventing U.S. sanctions and accessing international financing. On 20 August 2018, the sovereign bolívar was introduced, with the government stating it would be linked to the petro coin value.

As of January, 2020, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro decreed it mandatory to pay with petro for government document services and airplane fuel for planes flying international flights.

On January 15, 2024, the token was shut down and any remaining holdings were liquidated.