August 30, 2019 @ 7:58 am By Cali Haan  |  

Calling el Petro, “the simplest, easiest, and safest way to send money…(and) the only way to avoid depreciation of income,” Venezuelan politicians are now using their equally controversial national cryptocurrency to make a grab at profits gleaned from the country’s substantial remittance market, Miami New… Read More

August 22, 2019 @ 8:38 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Singapore-based Pundi X announced on Thursday it is teaming up with department store chain Traki to enable crypto payments in its stores across Venezuela. Pundi X reported that through its software XPOS, Traki customers are able to use various cryptocurrencies as payment options for the… Read More

July 12, 2019 @ 10:12 am By Cali Haan  |  

Two researchers at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) have produced a comprehensive report on Russia, Venezuela, Iran and China’s efforts to create or exploit alternative payment systems that would allow them to circumvent the US dollar as a means of enforcing American foreign… Read More

May 9, 2019 @ 10:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an updated advisory to warn financial institutions of continued widespread public corruption in Venezuela. This is part of an ongoing effort to isolate the Maduro regime who recently lost a popular election but has refused to leave… Read More

March 13, 2019 @ 8:06 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As part of its ongoing measures against the “illegitimate regime” of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Evrofinance Mosnarbank, “a Moscow-based bank that is jointly owned by Russian and Venezuelan state-owned companies.” According… Read More

January 27, 2019 @ 12:47 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Sources to Bloomberg have claimed that The Bank of England (BOE) is refusing to release $1.2 billion USD of Venezuela’s gold to the country’s officials. A delegation led by Calixto Ortega, president of Venezuela’s central bank,  reportedly visited London in December seeking access to the… Read More

January 16, 2019 @ 11:03 am By Cali Haan  |  

Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, has announced a ten-fold increase to the value of the country’s new national cryptocurrency, el petro, to 36 ooo sovereign bolivars (not to be confused with standard bolivars) and has also raised the minimum wage in the country by 18 000… Read More

January 15, 2019 @ 9:06 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Airtm, which operates a blockchain and bank-connected digital wallet and the P2P exchange platform AirPlatform, aims to provide globally-connected financial services to consumers and businesses in the developing world. The platform is now focusing its efforts on Venezuela, specifically in the new Airdrop Venezuela campaign. “Over the… Read More

January 10, 2019 @ 2:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Venezuela has formally asked the United States to consult on the sanctions it has imposed on the South American country, including sanctions on its state-issued cryptocurrency, el Petro. The request was also, “circulated to the (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body.” Venezuela claims the “unilateral coercive” sanctions against… Read More

December 15, 2018 @ 8:01 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Government of Venezuela briefly sent pensioners’ money to their bank accounts on December 7th, but then immediately withdrew the funds and settled them in “petros” in digital wallets held elsewhere, Caracas Chronicles reports: “The elderly routinely receive a message everytime one of the government’s… Read More

December 7, 2018 @ 5:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Venezuela will begin selling oil using its newly-created national cryptocurrency, El Petro, in March,”…in order to expand the modalities of commercial transactions and revenues…” state media outlet Telesur reports. Venezuela is also explicitly seeking a means of sidestepping escalating rounds of US, EU and Canada-imposed… Read More

November 11, 2018 @ 11:29 am By Cali Haan  |  

Venezuela’s Minister of Petroleum says he has been invited by the Secretary-General of OPEC to propose that Venezuela’s new state-issued cryptocurrency, El Petro, become the standard unit of account in global oil markets, XinhuaNet reports. Minister Manuel Quevedo, who is also President of the Venezuelan… Read More

November 8, 2018 @ 3:10 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Venezuelan government has initiated a savings plan based on the country’s controversial new cryptocurrency, El Petro, and is somehow promising that investors will see their money appreciate or at least stay stable, Telesur reports. The scheme, however, will require interested parties to obtain one… Read More

November 7, 2018 @ 5:28 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Pilates, a private bank accused by murdered journalist Daphne Carauna Galizia of laundering money for Maltese politicians and foreign interests, has lost its license, Financial Times reports. The license was withdrawn last Friday by the European Central Bank (ECB), several months after Pilatus’ founder and ex-chairman Seyed… Read More

October 10, 2018 @ 3:11 pm By Cali Haan  |  

In the midst of a migratory crisis seeing more than 5000 people leaving Venezuela per day, Venezuelan vice-president Delcy Rodriguez announced that, effective immediately, passports in Venezuela must be paid for using the government’s controversial new cryptocurrency, El Petro, at a cost-equivalence of four month’s wages,… Read More

October 7, 2018 @ 10:41 am By Cali Haan  |  

“Bienvenido, Petro!” And with those words, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced at a press conference Monday that the public sale of his country’s purportedly oil-backed cryptocurrency, El Petro, will commence November 5th. Maduro told reporters and applauding supporters while brandishing a cellphone: “If you have… Read More

September 27, 2018 @ 2:40 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Lourdes Miranda, an independent financial intelligence analyst/financial crimes investigator, and Ross Delston, a lawyer specialized in anti-money laundering, have told the Asia Times that they believe North Korea (DPRK) is probably using cryptocurrency channels to skirt US sanctions. “International criminals everywhere prefer crypto-currencies and the… Read More

September 4, 2018 @ 2:16 am By Cali Haan  |  

Amendments to the constitution, an international roadshow, determined rhetoric and state orders to banks that they must denominate transactions in Venezuela’s new state cryptocurrency, El Petro- all have done little to make El Petro viable, reporters at Reuters claim. For four months, Reuters writers travelled through hyperinflation-beleaguered… Read More

September 1, 2018 @ 1:28 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A Russian lawmaker, Vladimir Gutenev, told Russian news agency TASS  last week that Russia should consider ‘an asymmetric response’ to US pressure and sanctions, including deployment of nuclear weapons to Syria, suspension of missile non-proliferation treaties and development of a gold-backed cryptocurrency to help Russian… Read More

August 29, 2018 @ 12:32 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Venezuelan state’s push to legitimate its new El Petro cryptocurrency now involves an order to the region’s banks that they must adopt El Petro as a unit of account. According to France 24, a resolution from the Venezuelan Sudeban banking regulator now requires, “Public and… Read More