US sanctions have forced cryptocurrency exchange Uphold to shut down Venezuela, this time officially.
In an update to the Help Center on its website, the UK-based exchange noted that it was discontinuing its support for Venezuela due to the “increasing complexity of compliance with US sanctions”.
“We are taking this step very reluctantly,” a statement from the company said, adding that Venezuelan users should withdraw their funds as soon as possible. Users will have time to free up until July 31 Bitcoin and other crypto assets from their account Purse And their accounts will be completely banned till 30th September.
Uphold said in an email to users that it plans to return to Venezuela “as soon as US policy changes allow.”
US sanctions against Venezuela have been a significant obstacle to the emergence of cryptocurrency businesses in the country, despite the country having one of the highest cryptocurrency adoption rates in the world. back in 2020, peer to peer Cryptocurrency exchange Paxful made a similar decision to exit the country.
“Due to the regulatory landscape surrounding Venezuela and concerns about Paxful’s own risk tolerance, we regret to report that Paxful will cease operations in Venezuela,” the platform said in a statement shared with Decrypt at the time. “
Venezuelans react to Uphold’s departure
As expected, the decision has already been made spark reactions from Venezuela. Anibal Garrido, a Venezuelan crypto asset advisor who had experience using Uphold as a “fast, safe and comfortable” exchange, said it was regrettable that Uphold was forced to leave Venezuela for political reasons.
“This is an unfortunate move that highlights that reliance on centralized systems has its consequences,” he told Decrypt. “I call on users to reflect on the importance of self-custodiality of crypto assets.”
Uphold to Va de Venezuela @cryptolayer, Debe a las sanciones impuestas por el gobierno de usa contra venezuela from La Medida.
C, Una vez mas las sanciones effectón al ciudadano de a pie y no hesen ni cosquillas al estado venezolano. pic.twitter.com/qXPC3Ad3Vq
— Oswaldo Torres (@oswaldocrypto) 23 June 2022
The decision ends the uncertainty that has faced Venezuelan users in several waves of sudden account closures by the company. In 2019, decrypt reported that many Venezuelan users had their accounts blocked even after complying with the company’s extraordinary demands for additional KYC (Know Your Customer) details. Venezuelans suspected that the account closures were the result of additional sanctions recently imposed by the United States.
those days, decrypt Uphold CEO Juan Pablo Thiériot was asked whether US sanctions were affecting the company’s ability to do business in Venezuela, to which he replied: “Uphold is fully committed to complying with the laws that are enforced in each jurisdiction.” applicable in which it operates.”
With the departure of Uphold, Venezuelans lose another option to exchange cryptocurrencies and receive remittances; However, there are still equally safe alternatives.
The most well-known include peer-to-peer exchange platform LocalBitcoins, Binance’s peer-to-peer marketplace, decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap, state-owned platforms Patria and PetroApp, as well as cryptocurrency exchanges legally authorized to operate by the government. Huh. in country.
Meanwhile, Venezuela remains the leading country in Latin America in terms of peer-to-peer bitcoin trading, according to Useful Tulips, with over $4.7 million in exchanges so far this week.
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