- Venezuela is likely to use cryptocurrencies to circumvent US sanctions on oil and gold, dissidents and analysts say.
- The United States reimposed sanctions due to the Maduro government's failure to comply with pre-election equity agreements set for July 28.
Venezuela is likely to continue using cryptocurrencies to circumvent a new set of US sanctions focused on the country's oil and gold activities, according to Venezuelan dissidents and cryptocurrency analysts.
The administration of Nicolรกs Maduro, despite being involved in corruption cases related to cryptocurrencies, seems willing to continue taking advantage of these digital assets to divert funds from regulated channels.
In May, the United States reimposed sanctions on Venezuela, citing the Maduro government's failure to comply with agreements made with the United States to ensure fair conditions for the next presidential elections scheduled for July 28. Analysts indicate that the Venezuelan government will use cryptocurrency as a strategic tool against these sanctions, as has been the practice in the past.
Andrew Fierman, Head of National Security Intelligence at Chainalysis, noted that the Maduro regime has historically combined cryptocurrencies with a variety of methods to circumvent international sanctions.
"Regimes subject to sanctions often explore a variety of avenues to evade these restrictions," Fierman explained.
Venezuelan authorities have recently halted cryptocurrency industry activities, including Bitcoin miningfollowing a corruption scandal involving more than a billion dollars related to cryptocurrencies and oil sales.
Despite these repressive measures and the involvement of cryptocurrency monitoring agency Sunacrip, its former director Joselit Ramรญrez and other high-ranking ministers, cryptocurrencies remain a primary tool for evading sanctions.
Previous research, for Crypto News Flash and this time by and this time by Chainalysis revealed that Sunacrip and its associates carried out transactions of more than $70 million in cryptocurrencies to streamline operations.
PDVSA, the national oil company, is transitioning to have a larger fraction of its transactions settled in USDT, a major stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, requiring more than 50% of the value of each oil shipment to be cleared in this digital currency. We have reported in more detail previously on CNF..
Despite these developments, Chainalysis has not been able to provide data on the number of seized cryptocurrency transactions related to sanctions evasion activities. This current scenario highlights the complex role of cryptocurrencies in global geopolitical strategies and the challenges of regulating these digital transactions amid international sanctions.
