"The initial public offering of Petro began," the Vice Presidency said Wednesday.
Venezuela is planning to issue a total of 100 million Petro with 82.4 million available for pre-sale between February 20 and March 20.
The country's authorities have earmarked 44 percent of the 82.4 million for private pre-sale and IPO, 38.4 percent for private sale and 17.6 percent will remain with the Venezuelan cryptocurrency authorities.
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According to the media reports, pre-orders for the cryptocurrency for a total value of $5 billion came from 127 countries, including China, France and Russia.
US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to prevent US citizens from using Venezuela's new digital currency, saying that Caracas was using it to get around US sanctions.
