Bitfinex Puts A Ban On Venezuelan Petro Cryptocurrency

Soon after Trump signed an executive order to put a ban on Venezuela’s cryptocurrency, Petro in The States, now the latest crypto news coming in is that, Bitfine which is the largest cryptocurrency exchange, has issued a statement on the 27th March 2018 regarding in which it restricts the sale of Venezuela’s state-issued Petro Token (PTR).

It was during mid-February, when the government of Venezuela launched Petro, the world’s first state-issued cryptocurrency. Apparently, Petro cryptocurrency is highly supported by the oil-rich South American country’s oil reserves, but many view the project as little more than a way of escaping US-imposed economic sanctions.

Bitfinex, supports the above mentioned view. The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in an official statement wrote,

“We see the PTR as having limited utility. In addition, it could be construed as an attempt to circumvent legitimate sanctions against the [government of Venezuela].”

As per the Bitfinex statement, the United States has legally forbade any economic partnerships or negotiations with the government of Venezuela, the Central Bank of Venezuela, the state-owned oil company PdVSA, and any other entity related to the South American country’s government. With that, the sale of Petro tokens (PTR) is also banned.

Bitfinex mentioned that it “never had plans to include the PTR or similar tokens in the Bitfinex trading platform,” but says,

“In light of the U.S. sanctions and the other clear sanctions risks of dealing in these products, Bitfinex will not list or transact the PTR or other similar digital tokens. This restriction extends to all customers of the platform, including U.S. persons, and to all activities on Bitfinex, including deposits, financing, trading, and withdrawals.”

Bitfinex, when talking about banning its employees too from purchasing Petro, says,

“Furthermore, all contractors and employees of Bitfinex, wherever situated, are prohibited from transacting in the PTR or other digital tokens as specified above, effective immediately.”

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