The Venezuelan economy has undergone several changes that have been of great importance for the country. In particular, the birth of the new digital currency implemented by the National Government. This implementation has attracted the attention of the press, both nationally and internationally.
Specialists in economic matters can only comment and analyze about this new Venezuelan economic system.
However, the citizens have not been completely clear on what the creation of this virtual currency consists of and what its operation will be.
An important means of social communication conducted an interview on this topic to the Venezuelan professor and economist Alfredo Rincon, expert in finance.
The full interview follows:
- I would like you to give me a simple description that can serve the common reader about what petroleum is ...
Well, a simple answer is not going to be because the same definition of cryptocurrency calls is still being discussed by some specialists. For some it is a means of reserve, for others it is a stock exchange, but in general it is a non-physical currency that is handled in electronic media. I do not consider that the petro is a cryptocurrency, I believe that around this new currency there is a mixture of concepts.
- What is a cryptocurrency?
Crypto means something like secret, because you do not know who issued it, there is no one else electronically and there is no cash by the government and the bank is based on the confidence of the currency itself. That's why petro is by definition not a cryptocurrency.
According to what you tell me, do not you know who invented a world reference currency like the Bicoint?
No. This currency was born in December 2008 in the wake of the housing and financial crisis of banks and mortgage centrals in the United States and Europe, which collapsed. Then, someone with a Japanese friend raised the Bicoint. He was thought to be a Japanese, but about two years ago it was revealed that he was an Australian. The first operation registered with Bicoint that became the trademark of a man who paid with this currency for some pizzas in Florida. He did not even imagine how valuable a transaction of this kind would be in the future.
Today the Bicoint is today a world power. These types of currencies are based on the fact that operations are secret, that nobody knows about the bicoints one has, which one they buy and not even who is behind it.
How many electronic coins are there in the world?
In general, there are about 1,200 electronic coins in the world, but none with the characteristics of the petro. In reality, very few people know that an electronic currency has been operating in Venezuela for some time now. It is called Onyx, it is a cryptocurrency that had value a few days ago of $ 0.043, although these values are not guaranteed by anyone and is a coin of very little use.
Are there differences between the 1,200 coins existing worldwide and the petro?
Petro is the first electronic currency established by a State. Not even Saudi Arabia has done it officially. The cryptocurrencies, as I told you, nobody knows who creates them and the petro was established by the national government. It is promoted by the media. Cryptocurrencies have no support other than their stability and the confidence they project, while the petroleum is backed by natural minerals such as oil, gold, gas and diamonds.
How reliable can the petro be for investors?
We have a currency promoted by the State of a country that is in crisis, it could be a parallel to all the obstacles that have been put to the government or could be a failure in the absence of security that investors have due to the national economy.