US President Donald Trump has banned the trading of Venezuela's oil-backed cryptocurrency in the US through an executive order.
Trump today barred US citizens and companies from dealing in the petro, which Venezuela launched last month as a way to circumvent US sanctions, with immediate effect.
In his order, Trump noted that Venezuela's own National Assembly had denounced the petro as unlawful.
It blocks "all transactions related to, provision of financing for, and other dealings in, by a United States person or within the United States, any digital currency, digital coin or digital token" issued by Venezuela's government.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro first announced the controversial digital token late last year as a solution to the country's economic woes. Each petro is backed by one barrel of the country's oil.
The US Treasury has previously warned potential investors that buying the petro could violate sanctions that prohibit the purchase of Venezuelan debt.
Read more: Venezuela launches its controversial cryptocurrency, the petro
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