Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has spoken about a new bill that proposes to legalize the use of crypto in international trade deals – as a means of circumnavigating crippling economic sanctions placed upon the country by the USA and its international allies.
The Venezuelan political chief stated that his plan involved making further use of the , the regime-issued token.
Per Tass and Infobae, Maduro made a televised speech, proposing a new bill aimed at “stimulating the use of petro and other global [cryptoassets] in domestic and foreign trade.”
He stated that it was important to ensure that Venezuela was “able to use all of the world's [cryptoassets], both public and private.”
Maduro took a swipe at the United States and the UN in his speech, stating that the new bill was in effect an “anti-blockade law,” aimed at combatting the effects of American sanctions, empowering the Venezuelan government to "protect Venezuelan assets at home and abroad from theft" and help restore the domestic economy.
And the president claimed that the sanctions had wiped out 99% of the country's foreign currency revenue in the past six years, estimating losses of around USD 65bn between 2015 and last year.
As previously reported, Maduro is believed to have accrued vast and holdings from trade deals conducted under the radar of United States agencies – and claims that some overseas parties have already accepted petro payments in international trade deals, although he stopped short of indicating where these parties were located.
___
Learn more:
Bitcoin Mining Legalized in Venezuela, Miners Must Join ‘National Pool’
