A man walks past banners depicting Venezuela’s currency, the bolivar, at the Central Bank of Venezuela in Caracas. The “petro,” as the cryptocurrency is known, was launched this week as a very creative Hail Mary by a struggling autocrat. Unlike Venezuela’s official currency, the bolivar, the petro exists online only and is not regulated by the central bank. The petro is not a new bitcoin but a new way to get money from oilThe petro is officially the first cryptocurrency backed by a country. The petro tokens can be purchased only with U.S. dollars.

Source: Washington Post February 26, 2018 12:00 UTC