CARACAS, VENEZUELA — Venezuela announced that is will enter the cryptocurrency market with its launch of the "petro," backed by oil reserves. <br /><br />The petro will be backed by oil, gas, gold and diamond reserves, President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday, Reuters reported. <br /><br />Maduro said the government will issue 100 million tokens, each valued at the price of one barrel of Venezuelan crude. <br />That would value the petro issuance at just over $6 billion, according to CNBC. <br /><br />The government said the cryptocurrency will help the cash-strapped nation make financial transactions and overcome U.S. sanctions against the country. <br /><br />Venezuela's actual currency — the bolivar — is in a freefall, with the nation in need of things like food and medicine.
