Venezuela’s central bank will receive $1 billion from the sale of the country’s cryptocurrency, the Petro, Reuters reports.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the country’s President Nicolas Maduro said early sales had reached $3.3 billion.
“I’ve decided to send $1 billion to the central bank for Dicom auctions,” Maduro said in a televised broadcast, referring to the government-backed foreign exchange platform.
Maduro said the funds will be used for foreign exchange auctions.
On February 20, Venezuela formally launched Petro, becoming the first country with its own oil-backed cryptocurrency.
By Siranush Ghazanchyan