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Venezuela to use Bitcoin to pay for imports and bypass financial sanctions.

A Venezuelan merchant was kidnapped and killed after his family failed to pay a ransom that kidnappers explicitly asked to be
A Venezuelan merchant was kidnapped and killed after his family failed to pay a ransom that kidnappers explicitly asked to be paid in bitcoin.

According to a report from RunRun.es, Venezuela intends to increase its use of Bitcoin to pay for imports and dodge financial sanctions imposed by the United States. The investigative report cited anonymous sources from the country’s central bank who claim that “payments to companies from allied countries such as Iran and Turkey have been made using Bitcoin.” The South American country has been pushing the use of its oil-backed cryptocurrency Petro for some time.

Venezuela claims to use all the cryptocurrencies in the world for international trade.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has promoted its state-issued, purportedly oil-backed ‘Petro’ cryptocurrency as a means of exchange both internationally and domestically since launching the token in 2018. However, Petro’s poor adoption has forced the regime to explore other crypto assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Maduro announced the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a means to bypass sanctions in September, proclaiming his administration would soon “use all the cryptocurrencies in the world, public, state, or private, for internal and external trade.”

Venezuelan regime can create or use any crypto asset as a monetary instrument.

Venezuela’s National Assembly passed the Anti-Blockade Law this year, granting further executive powers to circumvent financial sanctions imposed on the country, including to authorize the creation or use of any crypto asset as a monetary instrument. In November, the government established its “Digital Assets Production Center,” a Bitcoin mining warehouse, as the country increased its reliance on cryptocurrencies. The South American country also launched its cryptocurrency exchange, backed by the National Cryptoactive Superintendency, to allow local citizens to exchange Bolivars for Bitcoin. Iran has also enforced a law to use Bitcoin to pay for imports to reduce pressure on its already fragile economy.

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