Banks in Venezuela have suspended or blocked the accounts of at least 75 users for having been associated with cryptocurrency trading, Venezuelan law firm LegalRocks has revealed.
In a publication On medium, the organization, in the voice of its director Ana Ojeda Caracas, said that since the end of 2021 and what has elapsed in 2022, they have dealt with the cases of natural and legal persons, whose bank accounts were suspended or under investigation by financial institutions.
According to Ojeda, this banking restriction occurs as a consequence of the increase in the exchange of cryptocurrencies for bolivars, the legal tender in the Caribbean country. This is because the banks that make life in Venezuela They are the ones that receive the bolivars from the trade with crypto assets.
In general, Ojeda points out, the exchange of crypto assets for bolivars is executed with stable cryptocurrencies (stablecoins), that keep 1:1 parity with the US dollar, such as USD Tether (USDT), BUSD or DAI.
This type of asset, the lawyer suggests, “is attractive to Venezuelans,” since it allows them to “Improve their saving capacity somewhat in the face of historical inflation that it has not been possible to fully mitigate.”
The lawyer’s approach makes sense if data from the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis are cited, which determined that 30% of retail trade in Venezuela It is done with stable cryptocurrenciesas reported by CriptoNoticias.
“In this constant exchange of cryptocurrencies for bolivars and vice versa, the necessary intervention of the banks that receive bolivars from the purchase or sale of cryptocurrencies is produced. (…) Since the end of 2021 and what has elapsed in 2022, at LegalRocks we have attended more than 75 cases of natural and legal persons whose bank accounts have been suspended or subjected to investigation by SARs (suspicious activity reports) due to the use of crypto assets by the person or company”.
Ana Ojeda Caracas, director of LegalRocks.
The suspension and investigation of more than 75 bank accounts in Venezuela for being related to cryptocurrencies recalls that on November 29 one of the most important banks in that country, Banesco, I’m requesting information to one of his clients about his activity on the Binance exchange, as he was informed by this medium.
The use of cryptocurrencies is legal in Venezuela
Given the situation of blocking bank accounts in Venezuela, LegalRocks issued a legal opinion. In it, they clarify that, in accordance with the Constituent Decree on the Comprehensive System of Cryptoactives and Related Activities, the use of cryptocurrencies in the Caribbean country is a legal activity.
In this sense, says the legal agency, “banking entities may not suspend, block or hinder access to bank accounts for the mere fact that the client or cardholder exchanges cryptocurrencies for fiat money.”
This should be so “unless there are sufficient indications that the funds from the client are related to illegal or criminal activities”, for which there must be previously a bank report on that particular.
According to Venezuelan regulations, cryptocurrency users in Venezuela could be object of sanctions if they use platforms not authorized by the government entity that oversees the sector, known as the National Superintendency of Cryptoactives and Related Activities (Sunacrip).
As reported by CriptoNoticias, that body proposed in May 2022 that people and institutions that use exchanges, wallet providers or unauthorized platforms, They can be punished with up to USD 15,000 if they violate the regulation.