Cryptocurrencies

Crypto Rating Sites Are Already Calling Venezuela’s Petro a Scam

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's president, center, speaks during the Petro cryptocurrency launch event in Caracas on Feb. 20, 2018. — Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's president, center, speaks during the Petro cryptocurrency launch event in Caracas on Feb. 20, 2018.
Photographer: Wil Riera/Bloomberg

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By Patricia Laya

April 3, 2018 at 3:10 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Two weeks after Venezuela’s cryptocurrency scheduled sale date, many aspects of the Petro remain a mystery and initial coin offering rating sites are already calling it a fraud.

Rating website ICOindex.com gave the token a "scam status," saying the project was missing critical information, from the description of the mechanism to its technology and supposed oil-backing. “We can discourage people from wasting money on this project,” the site reads. Another rating site, ICObench, rated the Petro 1.6 points out of 5. Other ICO raters, including Cryptorated and ICOreview, haven’t even bothered to review the project, Criptonoticias reported.