Venezuela: New Cryptocurrency Can't Rescue Caracas

The Venezuelan government is hoping that a digital approach will help it solve the country's problems. On Feb. 20, the presale of the Venezuelan cryptocurrency called the petro opened. The project, which was announced several months ago, is a novel attempt to create an oil-backed currency and circumvent Venezuela's severe shortage of foreign currency. In theory, Venezuela's government will be able to use the petro to conduct transactions beyond what its meager foreign currency reserves can manage. However, using a cryptocurrency for foreign transactions will not solve Venezuela's extreme economic problems. And the petro will quickly run into problems that will hamper its effective use in international transactions....