Maduro: 'Venezuelan Youth Should Create Cryptocurrency Farms'

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is calling on the country's youth to join social program 'Plan Chamba Juvenil Digital' (Youth Digital Work Plan) and create cryptocurrency farms in order to strengthen the Petro.

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Speaking at an event in Caracas on Wednesday, Maduro said the nation's young people should be "infected with courage" and install " cryptocurrency farms throughout Venezuela."

Registration for the digital work plan opens on April 15, and it is hoped the program will attract at least one million students. 

"Attention, young people!" Maduro wrote on his Twitter page. "Today Chamba Juvenil Digital emerges, to allow youths to form cryptocurrency farms that can mine world currencies. Because Venezuela does not give up!"

The program was designed to help incorporate young people – including university students, the unemployed, single mothers and the homeless – into working life. It is also expected to provide employment opportunities to recent graduates, Maduro said.

The Petro is the world's first national cryptocurrency based on natural resources. It generated over US$5 billion during its pre-sale period and, as of March 10, had recorded more than 186,000 certified purchases.