Venezuela: Parliament Approves Crypto Bill to Combat 'Financial Blockade'

The Constituent National Assembly of Venezuela has approved a bill on cryptocurrency regulation, the country's Ministry for Communication and Information reported Nov. 21.

It validates Petro, Venezuela's controversial oil-backed cryptocurrency, as a unit of commercial exchange within the country, and states that goods and services can also be purchased with Petro.

Under the new rules, Venezuela's crypto exchanges are reportedly allowed to carry foreign exchange operations using Petro.

Venezuela officially launched the Petro for sale in late October.

The state-issued cryptocurrency can only be purchased at the official website or in public offices, as the Petro digital wallet has been suspended by Google.

As Cointelegraph previously reported, Maduro along with Venezuela's establishment, has been actively involved in Petro promotion since it was first announced in December, 2017.

In September, Maduro claimed that Petro will be used for international commercial transactions.

Finally, Maduro was among the first officials who registered at Petro's website and bought the digital currency.

Most recently, the head of Venezuela's state oil company Manuel Quevedo announced that the country will present Petro as a unit of account for crude oil trading to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2019.

More recently, the Economist, in its turn, noted that Petro is not listed on any of the world's major crypto exchanges.