Assets, Bitcoin

Is Bitcoin Legal in Venezuela?

In Venezuela, the legal status of Bitcoin is complicated and still undefined. The authority on the matter is the National Superintendency of Cryptoassets and Related Activities (Sunacrip), which has issued various statements on Bitcoin, but has not yet released any official regulations.

In general, it seems that Sunacrip takes a positive view of Bitcoin and is working on ways to regulate and legitimize it. However, until official regulations are released, the legal status of Bitcoin in Venezuela remains unclear.

The Venezuelan government has taken a number of steps to try to control Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In 2018, the government created its own cryptocurrency, the petro, in an attempt to circumvent U.S.

sanctions. The petro was not successful, and the government has since cracked down on cryptocurrency exchanges.

NOTE: WARNING: Cryptocurrency transactions, including Bitcoin, are illegal in Venezuela. Any attempt to purchase, trade, mine or use cryptocurrency in any way may be subject to severe penalties under Venezuelan law. The Venezuelan government has also implemented a strict ban on the purchase of Bitcoin with the national fiat currency. There is no guarantee that any changes in the legal status of cryptocurrency will occur in the future. It is important to understand that it is illegal to use or own Bitcoin in Venezuela and must be avoided at all costs.

In 2019, the government began requiring cryptocurrency exchanges to register with Sunacrip. The exchanges must provide extensive personal information about their customers, as well as KYC/AML compliance.

The government has also been working on a system to track all cryptocurrency transactions in real-time.

These measures make it difficult to buy and sell Bitcoin in Venezuela, but not impossible. LocalBitcoins is one popular option for peer-to-peer trading.

There are also a few Bitcoin ATMs in the country.

Overall, the legal status of Bitcoin in Venezuela is still undefined, but the government appears to be taking steps to legitimize and regulate it.

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