Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has called on his OPEC counterparts to join him for the creation of a common cryptocurrency mechanism for the oil cartel.
Addressing the media after meeting with Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Tuesday, Maduro said he will officially propose to the OPEC and non-OPEC countries that they work out a joint cryptocurrency mechanism backed by oil.
Maduro said he has explained to Mohammed Barkindo the advantages of El Petro, Venezuela's national cryptocurrency. "I am very excited as well as the people of Venezuela," he told reporters.
OPEC consists of 14 major oil-producing nations: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
It is not clear how this community will receive Maduro's proposal.
Maduro is floating the idea of oil-backed cryptocurrency for OPEC after introducing the same in Venezuela's economy.
The anti-American leader claims petro will help ease the country's economic crisis, and circumvent U.S.-led sanctions.
An official petro white paper that Maduro unveiled last week says that the government will issue 100 million oil-backed Petro units, out of which 38.4 million will be available for sale from February 20.
Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves, has allocated five billion barrels of oil to back Petro.
Venezuela's economy has been reeling under pressure of the US sanctions, falling oil revenue and the plunging value of its currency, the bolivar.
Venezuela's ability to move money through international banks is limited due to the sanctions.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Forex News