Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Proposes Retaking the 'Crypto Path'

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro discussed the possible future of the national cryptocurrency system following the so-called PDVSA-Crypto scheme, which resulted in the loss of $20 billion in unaccounted oil sales paid in crypto. Maduro stated that the country needed to retake the crypto path but gave no indications regarding the revival of the national cryptocurrency asset, the petro.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Hints at a More Crypto-Friendly Future, States Venezuela Needs to ‘Retake the Crypto Path’

Venezuela might retake a crypto-friendly stance in the future. Recent statements given by President Nicolas Maduro at a meeting with banking sector representatives hint at a reconsideration of the role of cryptocurrency in the country, after taking several measures that affected exchanges and mining initiatives in the past.

Maduro touched on the cryptocurrency issue while talking about how the world is migrating to a multi-currency model, including a basket of currencies based on the dollar, the yuan, the ruble, the rupee, and other fiat currencies. He stated:

Let’s talk about the world of cryptocurrencies. We started that path and we have to get back on it because a group of bandits and thieves destroyed the path of cryptocurrencies, but we are going to get back on it.

However, Maduro did not reference the petro, the national cryptocurrency reported to be on the brink of liquidation in January.

Maduro’s “bandits and thieves” reference points to the so-called PDVSA-Crypto scheme, where officials from PDVSA, the state-owned oil company, sold shipments and received payments of up to $20 billion in cryptocurrency and other fiat currencies through Sunacrip, the national cryptocurrency watchdog. However, these funds were not reported to the national treasure.

This resulted in the arrest of former Sunacrip head Joselit Ramirez and former PDVSA President Tareck El Aissami. Also, Sunacrip entered a restructuring period over a year ago. Bitcoin miners were also forced to pull the plug on their operations in May when over 17,000 mining machines were seized by the National Power Ministry to reduce power consumption as the country went through constant blackouts.