As hyperinflation keeps on growing in Venezuela, the government appears to be betting almost all it has on its state-backed ‘Petro’ currency.
President Nicholas Maduro revealed earlier in August a new exchange rate for the Bolivar, which was tethered to the Petro. According to Maduro, one Petro was equal to $60 U.S. Dollars and worth 360 million bolivars, basically inducing a devolution in the national currency of 96%.
This pegged currency was called the ‘sovereign bolivar.’ Maduro recently stated that the new currency used alongside several other economic measures were the “formula” which would help “the country to recover.”
However, many people from domains outside and from the crypto industry are certain that the petro and the new sovereign bolivar are just scams which will eventually collapse.
But in spite of all the negative reception, the Venezuelan government appears to have great faith in it cryptocurrency and keep on pushing it forward. Venezuela’s Central Bank announced the launch of an Android application which was developed to help its citizens “understand and assimilate the monetary re-denomination process.”
Sovereign Calculator, as the app is known, was peddled by Venezuela’s Central Bank as a “tool for everyone.”
Considering that the bolivar’s re-denomination basically removed five zeros from its old price, the application doesn’t have to do much calculating. Still, the app currently has thousands of downloads and was rated 4.5 stars out of 5 by 241 reviewers.
The app was met with mixed reviews from its citizens, as some commended the app’s design and functionality, while others criticized that it has no actual use and it artificially deflates the bolivar’s true value.
Comunicacion Digital VE, the company which created the app, have been known to develop programs in collaboration with the current government.
In spite of this new currency, Venezuela’s economic state is still in shambles, and many specialists believe that these new economic initiatives will only bring even more failures and turmoil.