Crypto
Petro cryptocurrency era ends in Venezuela
Venezuela has officially terminated its Petro cryptocurrency.
Launched in 2018, the oil-backed digital currency was once touted by President Nicolás Maduro as a solution to the country’s economic woes and a way to circumvent U.S. sanctions. However, the Petro has faced widespread criticism and skepticism from the start, with many questioning its legitimacy and effectiveness.
The Petro was introduced as part of Venezuela’s efforts to revolutionize its economy and restore financial stability. It was the first cryptocurrency to be issued by a federal government, backed by the country’s vast oil reserves.
Petro struggled to gain traction both domestically and internationally. The lack of transparency, coupled with economic sanctions, hindered its adoption and undermined its potential as a tool for financial liberation.
The move to kill off the Petro is indicative of the broader challenges facing Venezuela’s economy. The country has been grappling with hyperinflation, a depreciating national currency, and economic sanctions that have isolated it from much of the global financial system.
The government has not yet announced a clear plan to replace the Petro or address the underlying issues that led to its failure.
Going into the weekend, the price of Bitcoin was unable to sustain the bullish momentum it displayed earlier in the past week. Since Friday, January 16th, the world’s leading cryptocurrency, repudiated by the price resistance above, now trades in a tight consolidatory bracket. Interestingly, this period of silence has been deemed transient, as recent on-chain data suggests an exciting time ahead for the BTC price.
Kimchi Premium Flips Positive As Local Demand Sees Buildup
In a January 17 post on the X platform, DeFi asset management platform XWIN Finance released an on-chain report, which suggests that Bitcoin might be closer to reaching a turning point than is apparent in its price action.
This hypothesis is based on the Bitcoin Kimchi Premium indicator. This measures the percentage difference between a cryptocurrency’s price (in this case, Bitcoin) on South Korean exchanges and its price on global exchanges. Simply put, it shows how much more Korean traders are willing to pay for Bitcoin.
When the Kimchi Premium transitions steadily from low or negative levels to cross above historically significant levels, this is typically viewed as a long signal from the metric. This interpretation is because a rising Kimchi Premium reflects growing local demand in South Korea, usually often influenced by retail buyers.
In essence, Korean buyers are willing to pay more for Bitcoin, hence overwhelming the available supply and consequently pushing prices upwards.
In the post on X, XWIN Finance highlighted that this long signal had been sighted on the indicator. History also attests to the bullish significance of this signal; there have been major price moves to the upside following sustained increases in the Kimchi Premium.
An example is the last sighting of the long signal in October 2023, where the index rose above a major threshold, as shown in the chart above. The price of Bitcoin witnessed a 370% rally after this signal went off in 2023.
According to XWIN Research, this same pattern seems to be playing out again in 2026. Hence, if the Kimchi Premium completes its long-signal formation, it could be a sign that buyers are occupying favourable positions for a bullish ride.
If history does repeat itself, the Bitcoin price could be on track to witness another exciting voyage, with the flagship cryptocurrency possibly putting in a more than 300% surge in the next cycle.
However, it is worth noting that macro conditions, institutional demand, and derivatives activity would be playing their roles to augment the pattern’s plausibility, as it should not be viewed as a standalone bullish sign.
Bitcoin Price At A Glance
As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $95,280, reflecting no significant change in the past 24 hours.
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