Venezuelans that received the asset through an airdrop are now selling Petro on LocalBitcoins at half the official price.
Selling Petro on LocalBitcoins
Venezuelan administration had recently conducted an airdrop of Petro coins that awarded every registered citizen with 0.5 Petros. Now the people are selling Petro on LocalBitcoins. The government claims that the asset is worth 60 dollars per coin, however, LocalBitcoins has listed the asset with a price close to half of what the government claims.
As per a Reddit thread, Venezuelans are rushing to LocalBitcoins to sell their Petro coins. The airdrop was conducted in December last year and rewarded nearly 6 million people with 0.5 Petro each. The user claimed that the administration initially allowed people to use Petro for buying items through a biometric app. However, the service was soon shut down as people flooded the stores with this service.
This caused people to turn to the only remaining option i.e. LocalBitcoins to sell their Petro. The platform hosted many listings that accepted Petro coins in exchange for Bitcoin or other assets. However, one such seller revealed that the price they had offered was not 60 dollars but 30 dollars.
Petro is an oil-based crypto asset that is operated by the state administration of Venezuela. The asset was proposed by President Nicolás Maduro to fight against the hyperinflation in the country that has crippled the country’s fiat currency, Bolivar. Furthermore, the asset would allow Venezuelans to bypass the US sanctions imposed on the country by US President Donald Trump.
Most recently, President Maduro has made it compulsory for airlines flying from Caracus to purchase fuel through Petro.
Featured image by pixabay.
