Morning News: Petro Pre-sale Results, Tesla Cryptojacked

– Maduro: Venezuela Raised USD 735 m by Selling Petro – Tesla Falls Victim to Cryptojacking Hack – Tech Bureau Temporarily Allowed Zero Yen to Zaif Purchases – Japanese Power Company Launches Mining Services

Catch up on the most essential cryptocurrency and blockchain news stories breaking in Asia and the Americas while the rest of the world was asleep.

Maduro: Venezuela Raised USD 735 m by Selling Petro
President Nicolás Maduro said that Venezuela had raised USD 735 million in the first day of a pre-sale of the country’s oil-backed cryptocurrency, the Petro, Reuters reported. No evidence were provided for this figure.
Private sale of the token Petro1 is estimated in March, whereas in April it should reach crypto exchanges, according to the official website of the project.
According to Maduro, tourism, some gasoline sales and some oil transactions could be made in Petro, the report said.
The country’s vice president Tareck El Aissami tweeted, “With the backing of this country’s natural riches, the Petro will emerge as the most reliable and innovative cryptocurrency.” El Aissami had previously announced that Petro tokens could be purchased by both Venezuelans and foreign nationals. President Maduro tweeted, “Remember this date, compatriots! It will be recalled as the day Venezuela took a step towards the future with the Petro. Global expectation is high for the first ever state-backed cryptocurrency.” Maduro also announced that he had struck a deal with a company called Aerotrading, whom he described as “one of the largest blockchain companies.”

Tesla Falls Victim to Cryptojacking Hack
Electric automotive manufacturer Tesla has suffered a cryptojacking attack, reports cloud security company Redlock. Cryptojacking refers to hacking efforts whereby cybercriminals hijack computing power and use it to drive remote crypto-mining initiatives. Per Tesla, the hackers made no attempt to access customer information or business data. The company told media outlet Electrek, “We addressed this vulnerability within hours of learning about it […] Our initial investigation found no indication that customer privacy, vehicle safety or security was compromised in any way.”

Tech Bureau Temporarily Allowed Zero Yen to Zaif Purchases
Customers of Japanese exchange platform Tech Bureau were temporarily able to buy cryptocurrency for zero yen, the company has admitted. A technical issue allowed yen to Zaif (ZAIF) purchases to be made without charge from 5:40pm to 5:58pm on February 16, with seven customers taking advantage of the error. Tech Bureau says it has “resolved” the issue with six of the customers in question, and that it is now “in correspondence” with the seventh. The Osaka-based company also says it will “strive to avoid any reoccurrence” of the error.

Japanese Power Company Launches Mining Services
Japan’s Kumamoto Electric Power has announced that it will move into cryptocurrency mining. The company has struck a deal with Tokyo-based cloud mining startup Oz Mining. Kumamoto says it will supply support, mining facilities construction and “low cost” energy for crypto-mining initiatives, with a price of 10 yen per kW-hour quoted – although it says this figure “depends on location, contract type and seasonal availability.”