Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro says cryptocurrency could provide an avenue for the country to avoid economic sanctions.
According to a new bill introduced September 29, Maduro and his cabinet are looking towards diversifying into crypto-assets as a potential way to avoid economic sanctions.
The anti-sanctions bill outlines a plan to study the possibility of using crypto-assets for both domestic and foreign trade, including the use of private and state-backed tokens. Maduro previously launched the country’s first state-backed token, dubbed the Petro, which is pegged to oil prices.
Maduro said,
The anti-sanctions bill is the first response […] to give new strength to the use of Petro and other cryptocurrencies, national and global, in domestic and foreign trade, so that all cryptocurrencies of the world, state and private, could be used. This is an important project that is under development.
The new bill follows on the heels of the Venezuelan government issuing a regulatory framework for the legalization and mining of crypto-assets.
Last week, the country’s National Superintendency of Crypto Assets and related Activities issued a decree to regulate all mining activities, including an obligation for independent miners to join the “national mining pool.”
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