Venezuela claims Petro cryptocurrency has raised $3bn 171,015 Certified Purchases from 171,015 certified purchases from investors in 127 countries, Block Tribune reported.
Speaking on State TV, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said 40.8 percent of the offers were placed in US dollars, 33.8 percent in Bitcoins (EXANTE: Bitcoin), 18.4 percent in Ethereum (ETH/USD), 6.5 percent in Euros and 0.2 in Yuans. He added that about 87,284 users made offers to acquire Petros, of which 3,523 are companies and more than 83,000 are individuals.
“The Petro will influence the future of the economy, production, commerce and finances in our region, in South America and the Caribbean,” said Maduro.
He said the Petro is the future of the cryptocurrency monetary system and Venezuela is on the lead.
“It’s the first country to create a digital coin, a state-backed cryptocurrency,” Maduro stated.
Local newspaper Correo del Orinoco has named some of the countries that contributed in the sale. They include “Afghanistan, Albania, Germany, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar, Chile, China, Cyprus, Colombia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, United Arab Emirates, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United States, Estonia, Philippines, Finland, France, etc.”
Earlier this month, Maduro claimed that the Petro attracted $735 million in the first day of its pre-sale, but he did not provide any details about the initial investors.