US citizens could face “legal sanctions” trading Petro coin
January 18, 2018 Helder Thijs 0 Comments
Following the announcement of the Petro coin, a lot of drama have emerged from the Venezuelan national assembly not endorsing its creation to Maduro calling on some Latin American countries to help back his coin. As was already speculated, Maduro’s intention to create a digital currency is not just for the current inflation the country is facing but is also to escape sanctions from the US government and concerns from the OPEC nations.
On the 15th of January during his national address to the nation, he stated;
“
The centre of financial
policy will be the consolidation of the Petro. This cryptocurrency is the future of humanity. Venezuela has entered the future.”
However, the US Treasury doesn’t buy into Maduro’s statements as the department makes it clear there is a huge possibility Maduro could easily violate sanctions via the usage of the Petro.
Reuters also reports that Maduro’s introduction of this currency is a way to extend their credit.
“The Petro digital currency would appear to be an extension of credit to the Venezuelan government and could, therefore, expose US persons to legal risks, It is another attempt to prop up the Maduro regime, while further looting the resources of the Venezuelan people”
These views and concerns are also shared by the country’s opposition Congress. They have also stated that they will not recognize the Petro as they have their doubts on using oil to issue debts.
US banks are also more cautious dealing with Venezuela ever since Washington imposed sanctions on the nations which exposes them to legal and reputational risks as reported by the
New York Times.
On the other hand, Maduro as always doesn’t seem to be adhering to the concerns of the opposition nor its citizens. It is reported that he is currently working with VIBE, a cryptocurrency consultancy company on how to sell petro tokens. According to the report by Reuters, he plans to sell $ 2.3 B privately with a discount of 60%.
The currency is nevertheless, said to be highly
centralized as the government has been in search of miners since December of 2017 to pre-mine the tokens before sales begin.
What are your thoughts on this subject? Do you think US citizens could face legal challenges if they participate in the token sale of Petro coin?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Link:
https://crypto-lines.com/2018/01/18/petro-coin/
This is why I just hodl.
