Venezuela has started keeping an eye on the cryptocurrency accounts of users who have traded cryptocurrencies, particularly P2P transactions.
According to Legalrocks, a cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused law firm in Venezuela, more than 75 cryptocurrency accounts have been blocked by private banks in Venezuela for facilitating crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto trades.
Venezuelan banks are keeping a closer eye on client accounts connected to cryptocurrency trade. According to a blog post written by Legalrocks, a Venezuelan law firm that specializes in cryptocurrencies and blockchain, more than 75 accounts have been suspended or are the subject of investigations since the end of 2021.
As per Ana Ojeda, CEO of Legalrocks, it is not appropriate to suspend these cryptocurrency accounts because they are intended to collect fiat money with the intention of selling it or exchanging it for cryptocurrency. But she makes it plain that if there are solid indications that the money used in these trades is the result of illegal or criminal behavior, the regulations will alter. The national superintendency for cryptocurrency assets, Sunacrip, does not issue licenses to cryptocurrency exchanges, therefore financial authorities may also mistrust those exchanges.
According to Ojeda, the economic crisis and the considerable depreciation of Venezuela's national fiat currency (the bolivar) this year have made stablecoin exchanges through P2P markets a frequent practice. In other words, consumers purchase stablecoins to keep their wealth and later exchange them back into fiat currency to make purchases after getting fiat cash as payment.
A number of analysts have said that the development of stablecoin-based peer-to-peer exchanges in Venezuela may be significantly influencing the dollar-bolivar exchange rate. The 40% decline in the value of the bolivar relative to the US dollar that happened in November was attributed by economist Asdrubal Oliveros to the failure of FTX and the anxiety surrounding holding money on custodial exchanges.
