According to an official statement published on May 31, Venezuela has added its struggling state-backed cryptocurrency Petro as a payment option for fuel in the country - but this follows the removal of fuel at subsidized rates, which essentially gives citizens fuel at minimal cost.

Subsidized rates offer fuel at a cost that is essentially free, with rates on May 25 showing that it only cost 6 Venezuelan Bolivar or $0.001 to purchase 1 liter of gasoline. With the end of subsidized rates, it now costs 5000 Bolivars to buy 1 litre of gasoline. 

Other currencies will also be accepted, but the Maduro administration will enforce Petro as a payments option at all fuel stations. 

The administration has chosen to allow these purchases only through the Patria Wallet, which is a part of the Biopago payment system and intended to boost Petro adoption. Fuel stations will not accept payments through the Petro App, which means users will have to migrate to the new system. Adding to the trouble is the fact that some administrative costs, like passport and driver’s license fees, can only be made through the Petro App.

The complicated support for various services has fostered more criticism about the utility of Petro. Venezuela has been experiencing rising fuel problems as a result of the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, amidst other issues. The economy has long been suffering, with Petro being introduced to allay some of the problems.

However, much skepticism has formed around the cryptocurrency, which detractors say has little purpose and has questionable backing by petroleum. The cryptocurrency does not have many users and the existence of a roundabout process to purchase fuel with the token will only add to the criticism.

Independent developers are building solutions for the nation’s citizens, like Valiu, which has built a crypto-dollar for Venezuela, currently in the alpha stage.