Trump vs Putin: Did Russia Actually Assisted Venezuela Petro Coin Launch?

Venezuela’s state-backed cryptocurrency Petro has created a lot of uproar in the crypto market. With Trump’s US ban on Venezuela Petro coin, it fueled the fire of questionable credibility and authenticity of this cryptocurrency. Now, Russia’s involvement turned this Petro, Maduro’s so-called economy savior into a major political extravaganza.

Russia – Venezuela Petro venture to escape US sanctions

According to the latest revelation in the Petro scenario, it has turned out to be a joint venture between Venezuela and Russian officials. This state-backed cryptocurrency went into its presale on February 20th and started its public sale on March 21st.

Petro has been apparently Venezuelan and Russian officials attempt at bypassing the US sanctions. According to Time, a Russian state bank executive reported that the development of Petro has been overseen by the Kremlin advisors. Most importantly the Russian President, Vladimir Putin signed off on this project last year itself.

“People close to Putin, they told him this is how to avoid the sanctions. This is how the whole thing started.”

It has also been claimed that the Russian billionaires Fyodor Bogorodsky and Dennis Druzhkovka advised Venezuelan president, Maduro in developing the Petro.

Also, read: G20 Summit in Action: The Debate Over “Bitcoin- Asset Vs Currency” is ON

Leveraging crypto to influence the global economy

It is no hidden fact that both the countries Russia and Venezuela have been invested in creating a state-backed cryptocurrency that could not be controlled by a central authority, especially the US.

If this collaboration is, in fact, true, it won’t be a shocker as the strained relationship between Russia and the US isn’t anything new. Moreover, Russia’s sentiment on US dollar having power in the global economy is a known fact.  

Given the way, the rise of digital currencies is pushing the global governments to work on their financial infrastructure and develop regulations around these cryptocurrencies, the plans of both the countries seem understandable.

Venezuela and Russia both have been on the negative end of US sanctions and through CryptoRuble, Russia can escape those sanctions. Whereas the low value of Bolivar made Venezuela eager to accept Russia’s assistance.

No doubt, cryptocurrencies are an incredible way to skirt the sanctions. Going with the fact that developing the digitized version of Ruble will present the risk of Ruble’s destabilization, Russia took the Petro route.

However, now that Trump has banned the US purchase of Petro, the plans to wage a war with cryptocurrencies and dominate the world economy might remain unseen.

What are your views on Russian involvement in Venezuelan Petro? How do you think Russia could have used cryptocurrency to create an international impact? Share your thoughts with us!