María Corina Machado, a leading figure in Venezuela’s opposition, has proposed a plan to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a national reserve asset. In an interview with Alex Gladstein from the Human Rights Foundation on Thursday, she called the cryptocurrency a “lifeline” and a “vital means of resistance” against the country’s economic collapse. Bitcoin as a...Read More
Venezuelan political critics and activists have warned that President Nicolás Maduro and his government are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency transactions as a method to evade international sanctions. This follows the U.S. reinstating gold and oil sanctions recently, following Maduro’s failure to honor an agreement to ensure fair elections scheduled for July. Critics Urge for Stricter...Read More
Tether has announced that all wallets associated with Venezuela’s attempts to bypass U.S. sanctions on oil exports will be frozen. The decision follows recent reports indicating an increased use of Tether’s USDT by Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, to avoid sanctions imposed by the United States. Venezuela’s PDVSA Turns to Tether Amid Sanctions According to...Read More
Venezuela’s state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA is reportedly planning to speed up its use of crypto, particularly USDT, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, to circumvent US sanctions. The Venezuelan oil company gradually started integrating USDT for oil sales in 2023, and reportedly has a new policy in place mandating new customers to have...Read More
The authorities of Venezuela have reportedly urged local bitcoin miners to temporarily halt operations while inspecting a major corruption scheme that could have drained up to $20 billion. People who are part of President Maduro’s inner cycle are suspected of orchestrating the crime that involved the national oil and gas company – Petróleos de Venezuela....Read More
On October 19, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) accused two Venezuelan citizens and five Russians of using cryptocurrencies to launder money for Russian oligarchs by selling oil barrels from sanctions-hit Venezuela. According to the press release, the defendants smuggled millions of barrels of oil to Russia and China, laundering “tens of millions of...Read More
Despite being an underdeveloped region, Latin America sets an example for the whole world in terms of adoption, trading, and interest in cryptocurrencies. A recent survey revealed that more than 30% of Latinos are interested in investing in crypto, either to increase their wealth or at least to maintain its value in times of economic...Read More
The government of Venezuela does not know what else to do to control its economy and is trying to save its financial life by doing what all the world governments are doing: printing more money… A lot of money. Sources close to the Venezuelan government revealed that the country’s Central Bank has just bought 71...Read More
September was an eventful month for the crypto-market, to say the least, with the month seeing a major crypto-exchange hack among a host of other developments. However, despite the quarter ending as it did, Bitcoin did witness its second-best Q3 close in history. $150M drained from KuCoin: BTC down 1% BitMEX charged by DOJ, CTO...Read More
Venezuela’s cryptocurrency story continues as the country’s President Nicolas Maduro has presented new use cases. A recent report informed that the South American nation is studying the possibility of using digital assets in trades alongside the national Petro. President Maduro has presented new anti-sanctions law in the Constituent National Assembly. In a recent speech, he...Read More
Bitcoiners in Venezuela don’t need the internet to send some Satoshis. Today, the crypto payments startup Cryptobuyer announced the successful launch of the first Bitcoin satellite node thanks to a collaboration between Cryptobuyer, Blockstream, and a team led by a crypto enthusiast named Aníbal Garrido. The initiative allows interacting with the Bitcoin blockchain without the...Read More
The Mining industry in Venezuela now has its own regulatory framework. The National Superintendence of Cryptoactives and other Related Activities published on Monday the “Providence that regulates the activities related to the use, import, commercialization of Digital Mining equipment.” The legal instrument appeared in Official Gazette No. 41,969 and is already in effect. It would...Read More
The loss of some is the gain of others, especially the crypto-verse. On September 14, 2020, Paxful announced that it was closing its operations in Venezuela because the OFAC sanctions made it very risky for them to provide their services to Venezuelans. They gave their clients two options: either withdraw their funds in less than...Read More
Another day, another bad news for the people of Venezuela. Paxful has decided to stop supporting the country, giving users 30 days to withdraw their funds and preventing any new sign-ins. Throughout the day, users of the platform received an email, in which Paxful warned it had to “close its operations” in Venezuela after months...Read More
The use of cryptocurrencies in Venezuela has thrived over the years, and although they may not be the revolution that many expected, they have managed to fit into the financial thinking of the people there more strongly than in other countries. The status of crypto and blockchain technology in the country has evolved significantly. A...Read More
Venezuela’s Bolivarian Council of Mayors has signed a new tax agreement in 305 municipalities across the country. Called National Tax Harmonization Agreement, it will allow the nation to raise taxes and sanctions using the nation’s cryptocurrency – the Petro. Cryptocurrency Tax Collection In Venezuela According to the recent local report, the mayor of the Libertador...Read More
The United States government has recently added a top Venezuelan official to its list of most-wanted fugitives while offering millions of dollars as rewards to anyone who can provide useful information that would lead to his arrest. A Monday statement revealed that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE), a unit of the Homeland Security...Read More
During the last two months since the March 12 crypto market rout, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday,’ demand for cryptocurrencies seems to be on the rise in certain regions in Latin America. Various reports published this week have noted that countries like Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico have seen significant bitcoin trade volumes....Read More
Venezuela President Maduro has an interesting opinion on how cryptocurrencies will work exactly. In fact, he is trying to bring more positive attention to the Petro by airdropping some to doctors helping out with the coronavirus pandemic. The Petro remains a very controversial cryptocurrency project. Petro Airdrop Won’t Make Much Difference Its value is seemingly...Read More
While most of the world countries and entities are making slight attempts to enlarge their cryptocurrency adoption, Venezuela might be way ahead. Judging by the past year, the dictatorship country has been quite favorable towards Bitcoin and other digital assets, with increased trading volume, and its own cryptocurrency to be used in oil trades. Most...Read More
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro heralds the arrival of the Petro cryptocurrency, which can now be used to buy the nation’s vast oil reserves. | Image: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo 2020 could be the year Venezuelan oil will be finally exchanged for the Petro crypto. The national cryptocurrency is yet to find a use outside its...Read More
Meme Lord. Street artist. Unique startup founder. Feeder of the hungry. There’s no end to the amount of cool jobs in crypto, and new uses for decentralized, peer-to-peer cash are limited only by the bounds of one’s imagination. Whether finding new and innovative solutions for longstanding societal or technological problems, just having fun, or both,...Read More
For quite some time now, Venezuela has been suffering from a political crisis and a collapsing economy. Venezuelans dealing with rampant inflation continue to see their purchasing power decline. After witnessing one of the worst economic disasters in modern history, 4 million citizens have emigrated to seek a better form of money, shelter, and to...Read More
Venezuela’s government has accused Colombia of backing a violent anti-Maduro plot as the country with the world’s largest oil reserves hits record bitcoin trading volumes. | Source: REUTERS/Manaure Quintero/File Photo The number of Bolivars exchanged for Bitcoin in Venezuela has surged to yet another record high as economic and political woes of the Latin American...Read More
The financial situation in Venezuela continues to evolve in interesting directions. While Bitcoin is still frowned upon in the country, it is also becoming more common. XPay, a cryptocurrency payment processor, is now offering its services in Colombia and Venezuela. As such, pharmaceutical goods can now be purchased with Bitcoin, assuming people are willing to...Read More
Various countries continue to oppose cryptocurrencies. Venezuela has become a notorious example in that regard. In a recent turn of events, the government is now targeting companies who pay employees in Bitcoin. One company has been officially sanctioned for doing so. Things got so bad that numerous employees were laid off in the process. Venezuela...Read More
The superintendente of “Nacional de Criptoactivos (SUNACRIP) in Venezuela, Joselit Ramírez, has appeared on national radio to encourage people to use the Venezuelan state-backed crypto asset, the petro. Ramírez reminded listeners that the “Sistema Patria” was now online for simple, secure remittance payments.Last year, the government of Venezuela became the first on the planet to...Read More
Kraken, a San Fransisco-based cryptocurrency exchange, has been operating since 2013, making headlines consistently for its donations, funding, and issues with its site and API. OTC Head at Kraken, Nelson Minier, recently shared his journey into the cryptoverse, while also discussing the many developments in the Kraken ecosystem, in a recent podcast. Minier stated that...Read More
Venezuela’s inflation rate topped 130,000% in 2018 as peer-to-peer Bitcoin and Dash transactions reached new all-time highs month after month. Bitcoin Thrives in Broken Economies For the past few years, the Venezuelan economy has been rocked by political and economic instability that has led to shortages of food and medicine, nationwide blackouts, riots and unstoppable...Read More
