Venezuela’s unfortunate petro coin will shut down on January 15 after 6 years.

The scandal ruined the cryptocurrency, which intended as an attack against US sanctions, and it never gained traction at home or abroad. According to press sources, Venezuela’s national cryptocurrency, the petro (PTR), will stop trading on January 15. Although the coin designed in 2018 to assist the nation in avoiding US sanctions never put to much use.

The official website for the coin, Petro, purportedly announced the shutdown, although as of the time of writing, that website was unavailable. According to reports, the only area of the Venezuelan Patria website where the Petro traded is the administrative portion, which requires a login to access.

US sanctions caused a drastic drop in the nation’s fiat currency, the bolivar, and Bitcoin, at $42,679, already established a solid foundation in the nation when the state-run, oil-backed cryptocurrency introduced. President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela ordered the issuance of the petro, but the parliament objected.

Challenges and Controversies Surrounding Venezuela’s Petro Cryptocurrency

The currency became fully functional in 2020, but the Maduro administration’s attempts to introduce it to the 10 states that comprise the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America were unsuccessful, and it has never traded internationally.

Despite efforts to promote its use within the country and never proclaiming it legal tender, acceptance is not mandatory. Without an order from the president, not even the biggest bank in the nation, Banco de Venezuela, would take the petro.

The National Superintendency of Crypto Assets, which was in charge of the petro, was led by Joselit Ramirez Camacho, and in June 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement put out a $5 million reward for his capture. Authorities have charged him with involvement in the transportation of illegal drugs abroad.

In March 2023, authorities in Venezuela detained Ramirez Camacho on suspicion of financial misbehavior in the country’s oil industry, leading to the closure and reorganization of his corporation.

Subsequently, the closure extended until March 2024, resulting in the shutdown of the nation’s cryptocurrency exchanges and mining operations as part of the agency’s investigation. It’s important to note that the petro is not a digital currency issued by a central bank, despite the Central Bank of Venezuela announcing plans to create a CBDC in 2021 that were never implemented.