Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has ordered the Bank of Venezuela to accept government-issued cryptocurrency, the petro.

According to a tweet by the country's finance minister, the bank must open petro-processing desks in all branches across Venezuela. The announcement was made on the tenth anniversary of the bank's nationalisation. The move is aimed to help popularise the petro, which officially went on sale in October, and to ensure people can start making transactions in it.

Although at the moment the order requires only the Bank of Venezuela to open cryptocurrency desks, he said private banks should follow in the future.

According to President Maduro, the petro could help Venezuela face “the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed by the government of the United States.” Maduro referred to the sanctions as “barbarism” and said he believed that cryptocurrencies can democratise the world.