WallbitA crypto-enabled neobank, has announced that it will no longer offer its services to customers residing in Venezuela. This was prompted by the financial sanctions imposed by the US on the country. Customers living outside Venezuela will still be served.
Wallbit Severs Ties with Venezuelan Clients
Wallbit, a cryptocurrency-enabled neobank, which advertises itself as providing financial institution accounts to its customers in the US, declared that it is suspending operations to customers in Venezuela.
The Platform held a press conference February 24th. Explaining that the bank partners requested the closure of all accounts opened by Venezuelan customers living in Venezuela. These customers were told to withdraw their funds as soon as possible, even if it was not convenient. However, no date was given as to when these accounts will be terminated.
The Company clarified that Venezuelan customers living outside the country can still take advantage of its services. But they will need to contact the firm for assistance. This could have an impact on Venezuelan workers who use the platform to receive their salaries from abroad and then convert them into cryptocurrencies.
Shutting Down Another Platform Due to Sanctions
Wallbit further clarified that the reason for this sudden decision is directly related to the sanctions imposed by some US authorities against Venezuelan national and state-owned firms. In a press release, they said:
We would like to clarify that the US authorities have imposed sanctions on this account. Therefore, we are now mandated to stop the creation of new accounts and prohibit deposits to accounts that have been created by residents of Venezuela.
This is not the first financial platform to cut ties with Venezuelan customers due to the risk of being sanctioned. In June, the cryptocurrency trading and funding platform Uphold, based in New York, announced that it will also be closing the accounts of Venezuelan customers due to the “increasing complexity of complying with US sanctions.”
Similarly, the peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading platform Paxful also said it will cease providing services to its customers in the country. At the time, the platform cited “issues related to the regulatory landscape around Venezuela and Paxful’s own risk tolerance” as the main cause behind this decision.
What do you think of Wallbit’s departure from Venezuela? Let us know in the comments below.
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