Venezuelan banks have been ordered to use petro

Venezuelan banks have been ordered to use petro, the maduro government launched cryptocurrency, as a unit of account.

Wire Services AFP reported Tuesday, "all financial information" must be denominated in both Bolivar - Venezuela's official currency - and Petro, which was controversially revealed in December. Maduro's government has claimed without evidence of having raised billions of dollars under a president earlier this year despite the return of opposition leaders in the country as well as international critics, including the US government.

In fact, US President Donald Trump in March approved new sanctions against Venezuela, specifically targeted petro. The development is the latest mandate to come out of the Maduro government in connection with petro.

It was previously announced that the state-owned oil and gas company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) will start using the petro as a unit of account, and officials have also ordered state-funded pensions and wages to be anchored to crypto rates. The latest news is also on the heels of a UN report, which states that since 2014, 2,3 million people have fled Venezuela in the midst of the country's economic crisis.