Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA is reportedly planning to increase its use of cryptocurrency for crude oil and fuel exports as the United States strengthens oil sanctions against Venezuela.
Venezuela’s PDVSA, the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, is switching to the stablecoin Tether (USDT) for fuel exports after the U.S. government reimposed sanctions over a lack of electoral reform, Reuters reported, citing sources. I am well aware of the issue.
Although PDVSA’s frequency of cryptocurrency usage remains unclear, insiders suggest that the company has been gradually converting its oil sales to USDT since last year. Venezuelan Oil Minister Pedro Telechea acknowledged in comments to Reuters that the country has “different currencies depending on what is specified in the contracts” and noted that cryptocurrencies may be the preferred payment method in some contracts. .
PDVSA is reportedly mandating new customers and even existing contracts to store cryptocurrency in digital wallets, but it is unclear whether cryptocurrency payments are the preferred choice or a backup option.
Previous ventures into cryptocurrencies in Venezuela have faced challenges, as evidenced by the recent demise of the Petro project. Petro, launched in 2018 as a state-backed token linked to oil reserves, has faced controversy and failed to gain much traction among citizens.
Despite President Nicolás Maduro’s initial optimism about using the token to weather U.S. sanctions and solve economic problems, Petro’s death in January ended nearly six years of effort.