Venezuela’s "petro" pre-sale goes live on Tuesday

Tanya Abrosimova Independent Analyst

Venezuela launches petro pre-sale
International authorities denounce it to be illegal

Venezuela is going through hard times. The economy lies in ruins; inflation is galloping, currency is devaluing, oil production is collapsing, while the United States and the European Union sanctions are making matters worse.

This dire situation forced President Nicolas Maduro to resort to unconventional measures. He has launched commodity-backed "petro" cryptocurrency in hopes that it will help the country to get around Western sanctions and get the economy back on track

According to the government, petro will be backed by vast natural resources of the country, including gas, oil, and diamonds.

The authorities aim to sell 38.4 M of petro tokens at the initial price of $60.00 at the pre-sale round. Thus they will raise $2.3B. The country's cryptocurrency regulator plans to draw investments from the Middle East countries and hopes to attract investors from Europe and US.

The decision attracted lots of criticism as many experts believe Caracas is turning to crypto about of desperation, and the venture won’t bring real benefits to Venezuela's economy. What’s more, the countries parliament declared the cryptocurrency issue illegal and warned the public against buying it.

The US Treasury Department also warned that investments in new cryptocurrency are illegal as they breach sanctions imposed on Venezuela.

Author

Tanya Abrosimova

Independent Analyst

AUD/USD bulls regain control above 0.6950 amid USD retreat

AUD/USD regains traction and extends the previous day's bounce from the weekly low, aiming for 0.7000 in Asia on Friday. The overnight pullback in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar below an 18-month high, which in turn offers some support to the pair. Meanwhile, hawkish RBA expectations also keep the major underpinned.

USD/JPY holds gains near 158.00 after Japan's weak Household Spending data

USD/JPY clings to gains around 158.00 after data showed on Friday that Japan's Household Spending fell for the ninth straight month, undermining the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar remains depressed as the overnight fall in US bond yields counters a hawkish Fed and geopolitical uncertainties, could cap any downside in the pair.

Gold remains range-bound below $4,200

Gold has given up some ground after an initial bullish attempt to reach weekly highs, returning to below the $4,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The US Dollar’s strong upside momentum, combined with rising US Treasury yields across the curve, seems to keep further gains in the yellow metal under scrutiny.

Has Bitcoin really escaped the macro forces it was built to fight?

Over 17 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin (BTC) on the back of a global financial crisis as an alternative to the global monetary system outside the control of central banks, governments and traditional intermediaries. This raises a key question: has Bitcoin really become independent of the macroeconomic forces it was built to challenge?

The Euro is not the sick man of Europe. France's bond market is

EUR/USD remains under pressure, near the 17-month low of 1.1161 reached on Monday. The pair has lost more than 7% since its yearly peak, as concerns over France's public finances increasingly weigh on the single currency. But behind the weakness of the Euro (EUR), the problem does not necessarily lie with the European economy as a whole.