The Venezuelan government has approved a new tax bill aiming to collect up to 20% in taxes from cryptocurrency transactions, according to local reports. Venezuela’s National Assembly held the second discussion session on Thursday for a new draft bill targeting taxes on “large financial transactions” in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The Venezuelan government reportedly approved the draft bill last Thursday, requiring local firms and individuals to pay up to 20% for operations carried out in cryptocurrencies as well as foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar. Filed on Jan. 20, the draft law aims to collect from 2% to 20% over …

A major international airport in Venezuela is reportedly preparing to start accepting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for tickets and other services. Simón Bolívar International Airport is working to enable cryptocurrency payments to comply with local industry standards, regional news agency El Siglo reported on Sunday. Also known as Maiquetia, the airport is located in downtown Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. According to Maiquetia airport director Freddy Borges, the airport plans to accept many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Dash and Venezuela’s oil-pegged digital currency, the Petro. He said that the airport’s administration would introduce new payment options in coordination with …

The Central Bank of Venezuela will launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in October alongside a monetary redenomination that will cut six zeros from the currency due to raging inflation. As of Oct. 1, the digital Venezuelan bolivar will begin circulation in the economy. Its cash equivalent will get a new 1-bolivar coin, along with banknotes ranging from 5 bolivars to 100 bolivars as part of the six-zero readjustment of the currency. The Central Bank of Venezuela made the announcement on Friday. The CBDC will be accompanied by an SMS-based exchange system to facilitate payments and transfers among its …

The regime of Nicolás Maduro continues to lean on crypto to keep economically solvent. Via Instagram, an engineering brigade of the Venezuelan army inaugurated the new "Digital Assets Production Center of the Bolivarian Army of Venezuela." As the video shows, the center houses various ASIC mining equipment used to crack proof-of-work algorithms. General Lenin Herrera presented the new mining operation. The stated goal of the mining operation is "strengthening and self-sustainability of our units of the Bolivarian Army," adding later that these mining centers would be generating "unblockable sources of income" and an alternative to the "trust system blocked and …

Venezuela’s National Securities Superintendency has given the go-ahead for a 90-day pilot of a crypto-powered “decentralized stock exchange” in the country that aims to have a global reach despite international sanctions. Cointelegraph Espanol reports that news of the Decentralized Stock Exchange of Venezuela’s authorization to operate was published in the country’s official gazette, issue 6,578, Sept. 29. The exchange is known as BDVE and its website claims that the platform comprises “the first decentralized stock exchange in the world.” It highlights that users will be able to access the exchange “from anywhere in the world” and “without restrictions.” Both fiat …

The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, says that the country's government is now looking at diverse cryptocurrencies as a potential way of avoiding sanctions. On Sept. 29, Maduro presented a new bill that intends to help the country overcome the impact of United States sanctions. As part of the bill, Venezuela will study the possibility of using various cryptocurrencies in both domestic and foreign trade. Maduro claimed that the new anti-sanctions bill involves both private and state-backed crypto initiatives like Venezuela’s oil-pegged cryptocurrency, the Petro: "The anti-sanctions bill is the first response [...] to give new strength to the use …

A New York-based crypto exchange has listed a token with the same name as the Venezuelan state-issued asset, the Petro (PTR). In reality however, the two are entirely unconnected. Exchanges such as BitMart have recently begun listing this similarly named token for trade on their platforms. However, the Venezuelan government has not yet announced any partnerships with exchanges abroad. According to an article published by Cointelegraph Spanish, only seven local crypto exchanges offer PTR for trade in Venezuela. Two government platforms, named Plataforma Patria and PetroApp, additionally allow speculators to access the token. None of these exchanges are technically available …

The Bolivarian Council of Mayors in Venezuela signed the so-called "National Tax Harmonization Agreement" for 305 municipalities in the country, including the Petro (PTR) as a means to collect payments of taxes and sanctions. The cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly widely used as the result of a new campaign. According to the government, the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, will be in charge of implementing a single registry of taxpayers through a digital consultation tool. She will also be in charge of creating an information exchange and monitoring system for companies to record payments in the state cryptocurrency. In Venezuela, …

The Venezuelan government announced on June 11 that almost 15% of all fuel payments at petrol stations across the country were made using the Petro (PTR). This rise comes during the first week of the new state-backed plan to promote widespread use of the token. According to a report from Ultimas Noticias, 40% of the PTR transactions passed through the foreign stations. Balancing Venezuela’s crypto environment? The blog Geopolítica Coyuntural says that Petro adoption will strengthen the balance and the homologation of value between the primary and secondary market, "allowing to build an economical and stable structure for the crypto …

The United States government has put Joselit Ramirez Camacho, the Venezuelan government’s superintendent of the Petro cryptocurrency, on its Most Wanted List. According to a June 1 statement, the Homeland Security Investigations branch of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency issued a bounty for up to $5 million for any information that would lead to the capture of Petro’s supervisor. This was done following an investigation by the HSI’s New York office. The authorities allege that Ramirez Camacho has “deep political, social and economic ties” to suspected narcotic kingpins, one of whom is Tareck El Aissami, former Vice President …

Venezuela has announced that petrol stations across the nation will sell gasoline at a reduced price in exchange for the country’s state-issued, oil-backed cryptocurrency, the Petro. However, the announcement comes alongside the removal of local petrol subsidies that will see the price of gasoline spiking from close to nothing to $0.02 per liter. Venezuela introduces new petrol regime Amid acute petrol shortages, June 1 saw Venezuela remove subsidies on the price of gasoline. The new petrol regime will see Venezuelan car-owners allotted 120 liters per month at roughly $0.02 — essentially allowing motorists two full tanks worth of petrol for …

On May 5, Venezuela’s government announced that its controversial oil-backed cryptocurrency, El Petro, would go offline for maintenance until May 10. However, observers have since identified that the official Petro block explorer now lists May 5, 2020, as the date that its genesis block was mined. Other block explorers record Oct.13, 2018, as the date for Petro’s genesis block — suggesting that there is more than one Petro chain currently in existence. Petro suspected of quietly forking After the maintenance was completed, the National Superintendency of Cryptoassets announced it had completed major infrastructure upgrades necessitating that PetroApp users update their …