Back in 2018, the Venezuelan authorities introduced the Petro digital currency. President Nicholas Maduro then promised that every coin would be backed by the oil produced in his country.
However, as subsequent events showed, interest in Petro turned out to be practically zero, both on the part of citizens and government agencies. Even the Central Bank itself decided to transfer part of its reserves to bitcoin and ether.
This week it became known about the readiness of the Central Bank to launch a digital version of the Venezuelan national currency, the Bolivar. CBDC should appear on the market in October, the regulator's press service said in a statement.
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It will be possible to send digital bolivars via SMS.
Moreover, the authorities stressed that there would be no fluctuation in the exchange rate due to the appearance of the token. The launch of the CBDC will be part of the government's financial infrastructure modernization program.
Nicolas Maduro first spoke about the digital bolivar in February. The Venezuelan leader believes that with the help of an innovative tool, Western sanctions can be circumvented. In parallel, CBDC should contribute to the creation of a more comfortable payment system.