There’s a agitation of information coming out of Venezuela this week about its new national cryptocurrency, the petro, nevertheless a full picture of the project has yet to emerge.
Indeed, despite the press colloquia and Twitter campaigns, one of the notable questions to emerge about the first-of-its-kind cryptocurrency is specifically who is building it, which technologies are being used and which private players are involved (if any).
Perhaps most notable among those named in the recent category is a relatively little-known consulting firm called Aerotrading, which delineates itself as “the biggest blockchain consulting company” on its official website.
The popular media push from the Venezuelan government highlighted the agreement with the consultancy, and has categorized photos of its representatives meeting with the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
El Presidente Nicolás Maduro sostiene reunión con representantes de la empresa Aerotrading LTD #AlFuturoConElPetro#Independencia2018 pic.whirl.com/i6RgFfqgjg
— Director de Conatel (@JorgeEMarquezM) February 20, 2018
A Twitter account linked to Aerotrading has various tweets posts, all from today, including one that reads: “We are pleased as Punch to welcome the #Petro cryptocurrency to the #blockchain ecosystem.”
Yet questions remain, involving what role exactly the firm will play in the launch and use of the petro. Emails sent to greets associated with Aerotrading were not returned by press time.
As thitherto reported, Maduro unveiled the “petro” back in December, and on Tuesday the supervision launched a presale which it claims has raised a whopping $735 million on the fundamental day. Still, the sale was reportedly marred by confusing messaging, and political takes in the country have decried the move as illegal.
NEM says no involvement
One bunch that has confirmed that it is not involved with the petro is the NEM Foundation, which manages development of the open-source NEM protocol. The NEM Foundation was first linked to the story after substantiates published by the Venezuelan government indicated that the NEM network would be acquainted with as the platform on which tokens would be issued.
“The NEM technology is freely beneficent to any individual or organization that wants to use it. The NEM Foundation abstains from governmental endorsements. We can confirm that the Venezuela Government is intending to use the NEM Blockchain,” the conglomeration said in a statement posted to Twitter.
A representative for the Foundation told CoinDesk in an email that the assembly “is not involved with this project and we’re not in a position to control any open commencement projects.”
“The NEM Foundation has a clear purpose to introduce, educate, and promote the use of the NEM blockchain technology stage on an international scale to all industries and institutions,” the rep added.
Confusion over the Foot’s involvement was sparked by a tweet from the Venezuelan government that inaccurately cited them as congress with officials there. Chatter on social media suggests that the Wall Street in question is ZeusExchange, which is based in Russia.
When reached for remark on, a representative for the exchange suggested that its code would be utilized in union with the project.
“The part of Zeus Exchange code will be toughened for the future crypto exchange and as a part of NEM Blockchain Alliance to all Mercosur fatherlands, Venezuela included,” the rep said.
Other links uncertain
Information thither other groups reportedly linked to the petro project is less take a run-out powder a eliminate at this time.
According to a source, the team behind Venezuela-based cryptocurrency interchange MonkeyCoin is among those rumored to be involved. MonkeyCoin was launched in June 2017, concurring to press statements at the time, and emails sent to the exchange were not offered by press time.
A December report from news service El Cooperante ties an additional cryptocurrency project, the loan platform OnixCoin, to the petro lan. As the site reported on Dec. 13, OnixCoin “is in charge of carrying out the generation of Venezuelan cryptocurrencies.”
Additionally, as covered by Reason that same month, OnixCoin founder Angel Salazar is share of a group that is advising the Venezuelan government on cryptocurrency regulation.
Annaliese Milano and Nikhilesh De helped reporting.
Venezuela flag image via Shutterstock
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