- The Venezuelan regime has targeted cryptocurrency companies following President Maduro’s contentious political victory
- Maduro has cracked down on sectors that could sow dissent, including social media and cryptocurrency platforms
- Binance has reported being blocked in Venezuela to restrict citizens from exchanging bolivars for cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency companies have found themselves among those targeted by the Venezuelan regime following a contentious political victory for President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro, who regained the premiership of the country in an election widely believed to have been fixed, has been cracking down on Venezuelan’s access to companies from sectors which could sow dissent, including social media sites, since his victory. Binance is among those that have reported being blocked in the country, ostensibly to prevent citizens from having the freedom to sell their bolivars for cryptocurrencies.
Election Results Spark Conflict
Venezuela has been in political turmoil since July 28 when the country’s National Electoral Council proclaimed Maduro the winner of the presidential election. With 80% of the votes counted, it reported that Maduro won 51.2% compared to Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia’s 44.2%, but didn’t present official tallies.
Gonzalez Urrutia’s camp denounced the figures as fraudulent and offered its own, which showed its candidate winning with 67% of the votes to Maduro’s 30% after 83% of the votes had been counted.
An information blackout has followed, with Maduro’s government blocking access to sites that may present the opposing point of view. According to VE sin Filtro, a human-rights organization, the country’s state-run telephone and internet service provider, CANTV, is blocking Amazon CloudFront’s service, resulting in numerous blockages.
Maduro Hits Out at X
Ironically for a right-wing dictator, Maduro has also hit out at X, blocking access to the site for 10 days to “put an end to plans on networks to sow violence, hatred and attack Venezuela from abroad.”
Binance reported the geo-blocking last week, saying it was monitoring the situation:
🚨 Algunos tips para la dificultad de acceder a #Binance en Venezuela 🚨
1) No entres en pánico: @BinanceLATAM confirmó que los fondos están seguros y están trabajando.
2) Activa un plan B: Prueba desde el cel, internet, o algunas VPNs
3) NO usar VPN con ubicación USA.… pic.twitter.com/iU9obPD6py
— Ernesto Contreras (@ernestocontrer) August 10, 2024
In the tweet, Binance noted that (translated) “Like several company websites in different segments in Venezuela, including social media, Binance’s pages have been facing access restrictions.” It confirmed that user funds were safe and that it was “monitoring the situation closely to address it in the best and fastest way possible.”
The information blackout is hardly a surprise, following numerous reports of arrests and human rights abuses, including “credible information about detentions, injuries, and deaths, as well as violence perpetrated by security forces” according to a United Nations statement.
