By mid-February, 38.4 million Petros could go on sale, raising $2.3 billion for the cash-starved government, VIBE, a new governmental advisory group, said. This is a large departure from the regime’s previous plan to have each coin backed by a single barrel of oil from the Orinoco belt in northern Venezuela. With a planned release of 100 million units, the Petro would have earned Caracas roughly $6 billion – if current oil prices stick. “VIBE recommended Venezuela sell 38.4 million petros with a face value of around $2.3 billion in private placements starting on Feb. 15 at a discount of up to 60 percent,” an official document read by Reuters said. “Another 44 million petros with a face value of $2.7 billion should be offered to the public a month later.” VIBE also had some suggestions for the use of Petros in the government’s official business: “The [remaining […]