The Maduro administration defaulted on the USD 650M payment of Electricidad de Caracas’ 2018 bonds due on April 10, as expected by the market. However, PDVSA 6% 22 bond coupons due since October were released to investors. State media and officials remain in full blackout mode.
It appears the days when people bought and sold their dollars after checking the infamous website are over. There’s a new website in town and experts in the field trust the newcomer’s transparency more.
Despite the economic crisis in Venezuela, there’s one sector where business is booming: cryptocurrencies. From mining to exchanges, Venezuelans are finding ways to make a living around a new technology that’s on its way to mainstream adoption.
The BCV revamped and refreshed the look and feel of its online platform, but opacity, secrecy and misconduct in madurismo’s economic policies haven’t changed one bit. You have been warned.
10 years ago the government took off three 0’s from the bolivar, saying it was a cosmetic fix and would strengthen the economy. Now, they will try to do it again.
Dollarization is sexy, but the argument for why we need it is weak.
People who have been trading cryptocurrencies for a while, let’s say the pros sometimes referred to as “crypto bros”, are staying as far as they can from the petro. One of them explains the many reasons why.
PDVSA bondholders, US energy firms, the Russians, Crystallex, and now a Swiss commodities trader… everybody wants dibs on CITGO, the most valuable Venezuelan asset abroad.
Since certified reserves aren’t such, the petro will be, at best, another way to make opaque transactions by an already shady administration.
The Maduro government claims the petro was successfully launched. The records on the blockchain say otherwise.
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