Cryptocurrency enthusiasts in Venezuela have been facing a tumultuous situation in recent days.
It all began with the arrest of Joselit Ramirez—Venezuela’s Superintendent of Cryptoassets—and President Nicolas Maduro’s order to restructure the country’s crypto regulatory agency. As a result, the newly appointed Superintendent of Cryptoassets is reportedly displeased with the industry’s development and has ordered for the closure of all cryptocurrency exchanges and large mining farms operating in the country.
Jose Angel Alvarez, president of Venezuela’s National Association of Cryptocurrencies, told Decrypt that the shutdowns have been affecting affiliates, and they are putting together a list of proposals to be submitted to Sunacrip and Dr. Anabel Pereira, the new head of Sunacrip.
Asonacrip has also set up a public survey in hopes of gathering input from the Venezuelan crypto community so they can provide recommendations to the Sunacrip intervention board.
The drastic change of events is in stark contrast to the country’s previous stance, as President Maduro had been championing the promotion of cryptocurrencies as a way to reactivate the Venezuelan economy. In response, the government had legalized crypto, created its own official cryptocurrency (The Petro), established a regulatory framework for mining, and institutionalized the registration of cryptocurrency exchanges.
However, allegations of corruption have been circulating on social media, such as high-ranking government executives owning cryptocurrency mining farms, influence peddling, arbitrary detentions, and equipment confiscations.
The Petro, on the other hand, has been changed from a decentralized, auditable, oil-backed, Ethereum-based token to a centralized, non-auditable token with its own blockchain and no real backing in tangible oil.
Venezuelan lawyer Ana Ojeda Caracas has also noted that the measure is expected to be only temporary. In the meantime, Sunacrip’s silence is only furthering the uncertainty in the Venezuelan crypto scene.
