President Maduro is forcing Venezuelan banks to use his dodgy cryptocurrency

Nicolás Maduro has ordered every Venezuelan bank to adopt his pet cryptocurrency, the Petro, which is now tied to and completely interchangeable with the new “sovereign Bolivar.”

Both public and private banks must now use his dodgy cryptocurrency in all financial reports. For almost a year, this has been Maduro’s plan to pull Venezuela out of financial turmoil. Last month, its highest ever inflation rate was recorded, with prices for goods and services rising by at least 82,766 percent.

As of last week, Venezuela has two national currencies: the “sovereign Bolivar” and the Petro. The new sovereign Bolivar is effectively same as the old one – but with a fancy new stamp and a lower valuation. Venezuelans were asked to exchange 100,000 old-school Bolivar for just one sovereign Bolivar.

Even after the creation of a new Bolivar, Maduro is still obsessed with pushing his cryptocurrency onto his subjects. The oil industry has previously…