Venezuelan Petro Cryptocurrency is a ‘Scam’, Say Local Merchants

Retail merchants in Venezuela are refusing to accept Petro payments as hyperinflation is causing massive devaluation upon liquidation of the crypto at the banks. Meanwhile, the country’s government has reintroduced price control inspectors as part of efforts to pressure stores into accepting the country’s state-issued digital currency.

Merchants Call Petro a Scam

According to Venezuelan media platform Tal Cual, merchants in the country have abandoned Petro as a payment method. Reports say merchants who tried to liquidate their petro holdings at the Bank of Venezuela received devalued Bolivar amounts.

The reason for this devaluation is because the central bank used the petro rate at the time of purchase. However, with the Bolivar losing close to 99% of its value in 2019 alone, merchants are seeing their Petro stash liquidated for the equivalent of “pennies on the dollar.”

Commenting on the situation, Josefina Salvatierra, executive director of Consecomercio —…