Venezuela officially announced the end of the operation of the Petro cryptocurrency. The currency was launched by President Nicolas Maduro six years ago to bypass U.S. sanctions, but it did not circulate widely and was involved in corruption scandals. According to a message from the only Petro trading platform, Patria, all Petro wallets on the platform will be closed on January 15th and the balance will be converted into the local currency, the Bolivar.