The crypto, intended as a blow against U.S. sanctions, was never accepted at home or abroad and was crippled by scandal.
The Venezuelan national cryptocurrency, the Petro (PTR) will cease to operate on Jan. 15, according to press reports. The coin was created in 2018 to help the country evade United States sanctions but was never widely used.
Petro’s shutdown was reportedly announced on the government-run website devoted to the coin, but that website was not accessible at the time of writing. The administrative section of the Venezuelan Patria website — reportedly the only place where the Petro traded — is only accessible by password.
The state-run, oil-backed crypto was launched after the country’s fiat currency, the bolivar, declined sharply under pressure from United States sanctions and after Bitcoin (BTC) had already gained a firm foothold in the country. Issuance of the petro was ordered by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but was opposed by the parliament.
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Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/venezuela-petro-coin-shut-down-jan-15-after-six-years-report