The History Of The Crypto Petro

The New York Times has a great story of how the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

It’s the history of how Gabriel Jiménez, the creator of the Venezuelan cryptocurrency the “Petro,” thought he could free the population from the Maduro government’s crushing authoritarianism with the digital currency.

Instead, his hubris resulted in the regime’s subversion of his plan by tying the cryptocurrency to its oil reserves.

With the Vice President, who is on ICE’s Most Wanted List for narcotics trafficking, overseeing his project, Jiménez found himself in a “bet that ended costing everything I had in my life: my friends, my partners, my reputation, my love, my company and my country.”

Great reporting.