（2018年2月21日）由於委內瑞拉法幣玻利瓦爾近年來大幅貶值，國內各界對於數字貨幣的期待越來越高，政府更是希望能通過發展數字貨幣來幫助該國擺脫經濟危機。
委內瑞拉官方數字加密貨幣「石油幣」於2月20日正式開始預售，該國也成為全球第一個發行法定數字貨幣的國家。委內瑞拉總統馬杜羅(Nicolas Maduro)稱，「石油幣」預售首日已收到7.35億美元。
委內瑞拉官方表示，「石油幣」的發行方是委內瑞拉政府，發行時間為2月20日至3月31日，發行價格為60美元，首批發行1億個。「石油幣」將該國奧里諾科重油帶阿亞庫喬區塊1號油田的全部石油儲量作為發行「石油幣」的物質基礎，每個「石油幣」價值等同於一桶原油。這也就意味著發行的代幣價值超過60億美元(約合377.3億人民幣)。
據悉，這一億個「石油幣」將於2月20日至3月19日定向預售3840萬個，從3月20日起公開發行4400萬個。另外的1760萬個將由委內瑞拉政府設立的數字加密貨幣管理機構持有。「石油幣」將於4月1日起在委內瑞拉國內和國際上的數字加密貨幣交易所上市，進行二級市場交易。
雖然「石油幣」不能直接兌換原油，但委內瑞拉政府承諾，接受石油幣作為個人或機構向政府繳納以本幣玻利瓦爾計算的應付稅費和公共服務的支付方式。石油幣與玻利瓦爾的匯率將由官方授權的虛擬貨幣交易所每日公布。馬杜羅指出，旅遊、一些汽油銷售和部分石油交易未來都有可能以「石油幣」計價。
委內瑞拉數字加密貨幣業務負責人卡洛斯·瓦爾加斯(Carlos Vargas)上周五表示，該數字貨幣將吸引卡達、土耳其和其他中東國家，以及歐洲國家和美國的投資。
2017年委內瑞拉公布的原油產量數據顯示，該國原油產量當年下降了29%，加速下降的原油產量勢必將對「石油幣」的價值產生影響。委內瑞拉總統馬杜羅日前表示，2018年年初委內瑞拉產油量將增加20萬桶/日。
去年10月，第一財經記者從localbitcoins.com的網站上發現，有大量委內瑞拉法幣玻利瓦爾用於購買比特幣。當時1比特幣可以兌換1.09億玻利瓦爾，而同一時段，比特幣兌美元的價格大約為5700美元。截至目前，該網站上已沒有比特幣兌玻利瓦爾的交易。
據外媒報道，委內瑞拉目前是全球挖礦最便宜的國家之一，在該國開採一個比特幣只需花費531美元，而在韓國則需要花費26170美元。委內瑞拉第一大數字貨幣交易平台Surbitcoin數據顯示，該平台至今已成交4.25億次。
Venezuela launches its 「Petro」 crypto-currency, backed with oil, on Tuesday
「On Tuesday, there will be quite a few announcements about the start of the process,」 Vargas said
Venezuelan lawmaker Jorge Millan had strong words against the coin: 「It’s not a crypto-currency, it is forward sale of Venezuelan oil」
Venezuela’s 「Petro」 crypto-currency will attract investments from Turkey, Qatar, the U.S., and Europe, the country’s crypto-currency regulator, Carlos Vargas, told reporters. The Petro will be offered for sale this Tuesday, February 20th, and comes as Venezuela is suffering from quadruple-digit inflation and chronic shortages of food and medicine.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the launch of the Petro in December. Maduro has repeatedly said that his country is the victim of an 「economic war」 — prompted by financial sanctions imposed by the United States — and that the sale of the new digital currency will help the South American country circumvent this problem.
「On Tuesday, there will be quite a few announcements about the start of the process,」 Vargas said on the sidelines of a political meeting in Caracas. 「And there will surely be a lot of investors from Qatar, Turkey, and other parts of the Middle East, though Europeans and Americans will also participate.」
Skeptics say that concerns about Venezuela’s financial solvency will likely limit investor interest, and the U.S. Treasury Department has warned the Petro may violate sanctions against the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) nation.
The sanctions — levied last year by Washington — block U.S. banks and investors from acquiring newly issued Venezuelan debt, effectively preventing the country from borrowing abroad to bring in new hard currency or refinance existing debt.
Venezuela’s Superintendence of Crypto-currencies and Related Activities as well as the Blockchain Observatory, will regulate how the Petro, which is 「backed」 by 5 billion barrels of oil reserves, functions. 「This is going to allow us to move forward to new ways of international financing for the country’s economic and social development,」 Maduro said.
Since its inception, the Petro has been controversial. Even Venezuelan lawmaker Jorge Millan had strong words against about the coin: 「This is not a crypto-currency, this is a forward sale of Venezuelan oil,」 adding, 「It is tailor-made for corruption.」
But that didn』t stop the President from moving forward. In January, Maduro announced that over 800,000 Venezuelans had already been recruited to mine the crypto-currency.
「We are going to call them a special crypto-currency team… They will set up crypto-currency mining farms in all states and municipalities of the country,」 he said.
The president even approached OPEC with his idea: 「I have explained to Mohammed Barkindo [OPEC Secretary General] the goodness of the Petro. The crypto-currency is the world of the future. I am very excited as well as the people of Venezuela,」 said Maduro.