The government of India has formally rejected Venezuela’s state-backed cryptocurrency, the petro, despite an attempt to entice India with a 30% discount. Dependent on the Latin American country’s oil, a steady, uninterrupted supply is key to growing one of the world’s most populous nations. Venezuela is in the midst of dramatically bad economic fortune compounded by US sanctions, forcing its government to devise ever-more creative ways to stay afloat.
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India to Venezuela, ‘Gracias, No Gracias’
Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj explained, “We cannot have any trade in cryptocurrency as it is banned by the Reserve Bank of India. We will see which medium we can use for trade.” She was speaking during a conference designed to highlight ties between her country, Venezuela, and Iran.
Sushma Swaraj
Both countries courting India are the focus of US economic ire and tightening sanctions. Iran also supplies India oil, and it too has been the subject of more bellicose attitudes from the current American administration. Rumors have long swirled regarding the Islamic Republic flirting with its own version of a state-backed crypto. So far, only Venezuela has officially rolled out a currency specifically designed to thwart sanctions, the petro.
Back in late April of this year, the president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro proposed a two pronged strategy to keep oil flowing for the more than a billion persons of the subcontinent, while at the same time increasing adoption of the petro. Essentially, should India make payment in petros Mr. Maduro promised substantial price discounts of up to 30%. It wasn’t as long a shot as imagined: Iran and India agreed to forgo using US dollars in future oil trade.
