Petro White Paper (Beta Financial Proposal 0.9)
| Author | Government of Venezuela |
|---|---|
| Published | January 30, 2018 |
| Format | Spec |
TL;DR — Venezuela’s 2018 white paper for the Petro, a state-issued cryptocurrency said to be backed by the country’s oil reserves.
The English-language white paper, dated 30 January 2018 and marked “beta financial proposal 0.9,” for the Petro (PTR), a cryptocurrency issued by the Venezuelan state. It frames the Petro as carrying out Hugo Chávez’s idea of a strong currency backed by raw materials, and as a route to financial independence from the US dollar.
The sections cover background, an explainer on blockchains, cryptocurrencies and tokens, “Venezuela’s opportunity,” a description of the token and how it is issued, the state backing (Venezuelan oil assets), plans for an ecosystem around it, and the terms of the initial offering: how many tokens, how they would be distributed, what the proceeds were for, discounts for early buyers, and how purchases and exchange would work.
The Petro was later widely judged a failure and was shut down in 2024.
What it is: An official government promotional and technical document for a sovereign crypto token, issued at the height of the 2017–18 ICO boom. A primary source for the project’s own claims, not an independent assessment.
Where this came from
- A copy saved in October 2026.
22 pages. A PDF copy is held in Kyle’s private archive; it is not linked or shared here.