Venezuela’s petro cryptocurrency now accepted at nearly 100 stores, officials claim

Venezuela’s government is pushing forward with plans to build out an ecosystem for its state-backed cryptocurrency, the petro.

The digital currency went live on state-sanctioned crypto exchanges earlier this year, and is now slowing being adopted as a means of payment by merchants and retail stores across the country, according to data from the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Following moves by Venezuela’s largest department store chain, Traki, to begin accepting the petro just months ago, the number of petro-friendly retail stores in the country has swelled to 93 and counting, according to the Superintendent of Cryptoassets Joselit Ramirez, who presented the information over the weekend at the Carabobo Crypto Convention.

It’s the result of a joint effort of private investors, state companies, and those responsible for the development of PetroPago, a payment gateway created to quickly convert petros to fiat, Ramirez explained.

Among the businesses that now accept…