The United States Treasury Department has added Moscow-based bank Evrofinance Mosnarbank to its sanctions list, alleging it was the “primary international financial institution willing to finance” Venezuela’s controversial national oil-backed cryptocurrency, Petro (PTR). The news was announced in an official Treasury press release published on March 11. In its statement, the Treasury accused Evrofinance — which is reportedly jointly owned by Russian and Venezuelan state-owned companies — of materially assisting efforts to launch the cryptocurrency, which it characterized as a “failed” project: “When the failed Venezuelan cryptocurrency, called the Petro, launched in 2018, Evrofinance emerged as the primary international financial …

Stablecoins will play a key role in mainstream adoption of crypto technologies, according to a report published by California-based stablecoin startup Reserve on Wednesday, Feb. 20. The report, entitled “The State of Stablecoins 2019: Hype vs. Reality in the Race for Stable, Global, Digital Money” is based on information collected from 40 crypto and stablecoin firms. The report’s lead author is George Samman, a blockchain and cryptocurrency advisor. According to the document, Samman “was commissioned to research the stablecoin landscape and then independently report his findings for the broader industry to learn from.” The analysis is presented by a number …

The founder and CEO of retail giant Overstock.com Patrick Byrne says that blockchain can make government “superefficient and incapable of being bribed,” in an interview with MarketWatch published on Feb. 12. Byrne reportedly said that government services have reached a turning point for a fundamental change of their structure, and blockchain technology, in his opinion, will be the optimal solution. Byrne proposed “building government-as-a-service, a set of applications and companies that, between them, can bring blockchain to different services that governments provide,” which will eventually “make government superefficient, inexpensive and incapable of being bribed.” He stated: “We could step into …

The Venezuelan government has introduced regulations for crypto remittances within the country, according to a decree published on Feb. 7 in the country’s official media outlet, Gaceta Oficial. According to the document, the National Superintendency of Crypto Assets and Related Activities (SUNACRIP) will now be responsible for taxation related to the sending and receiving of cryptocurrencies. The new legislation will reportedly be applied both to individuals and legal entities. According to the new requirements, the state has set out monthly limits and commissions, payable to SUNACRIP, on cryptocurrency remittances. The decree states that the maximum fee for a transfer has …

Top Stories This Week Facebook Reportedly Acquires Blockchain Startup in First Blockchain-Related Acquisition Social media network Facebook has reportedly acquired blockchain startup Chainspace in its first apparent blockchain-related acquisition. According to news outlet Cheddar, the acquisition is considered an “acquihire,” or an acquisition of a company made in order to get the skills or expertise of its staff, as opposed to the company’s service or products. According to Cheddar, four of the five researchers that worked on Chainspace’s academic white paper will be joining Facebook. Facebook had told Cheddar that it had not acquired any of Chainspace’s technology. Leaked Mt. …

Bitcoin (BTC) trading volumes in Venezuela have reached a new all-time high amidst massive hyperinflation and an ongoing presidential crisis, tech news outlet TrustNodes reports Feb. 6. Bitcoin weekly trading volumes reached above 2,000 BTC (about $6.8 million) on peer-to-peer (p2p) exchange LocalBitcoins during the week ending Feb. 2. Venezuela LocalBitcoins Weekly Trade Volumes in BTC. Source: Coin.Dance The recorded trade volumes on LocalBitcoins are just a fraction of overall estimated Bitcoin trading by Venezuelans. As TrustNodes reports, a large amount of trading is taking place on centralized exchanges located in neighboring countries, such as Colombia and Brazil. In such …

Venezuela’s new crypto bill, which establishes а legal framework for the industry, officially came into force on Jan. 31. The decree was published in the government’s official media outlet, Gaceta Oficial. The set of rules for miners, crypto entrepreneurs and regular traders was initially approved by Constituent National Assembly — an alternative to the country’s Parliament, created in 2017 — in November, 2018. The document titled “Constituent Decree on the Integral System of Crypto Assets” contains 63 articles. It gives short definitions of key crypto terms, such as crypto assets, blockchain, mining, cryptography, etc. It introduces the concept of a …

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a second term on Jan. 10, amid tremendous hyperinflation, long-lasting political and economic crisis, and strict sanctions imposed by its former partner and oil purchaser: the United States. Since Maduro first took office in 2013, Venezuela has faced several brutal riots, including the “Mother of All Marches” in 2017 and the Caracas helicopter attack in the same year, and the current crisis is very likely to be the last for the regime. We decided to look into the last six years for Venezuela and the fate of the Petro — a national …

Venezuela has taken issue with United States sanctions, including those levied against transactions in the country’s national digital currency, the Petro (PTR), according to a World Trade Organization (WTO) consultation request, published Jan. 8. The request, dubbed “United States — Measures relating to trade in goods and services,” was originally filed on Dec. 28. In the document, the delegation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela requests consultations with the U.S. government regarding “certain measures imposed by the United States in relation to trade in goods and services.” In particular, the document describes five key areas through which the U.S. purportedly …

Venezuelan government has published a new decree that introduces taxation for operations with cryptocurrency and foreign fiat in its official newspaper Monday, Jan. 7. The decree No. 3,719, published in the Gaceta Oficial edition No. 6,420, is accompanied with another decree that explains the regulatory framework behind the new rules, introduced amid what the newspaper describes as the state of economic emergency. As Cointelegraph in Spanish notes, all citizens who deal with cryptocurrencies or foreign fiat currencies are now obliged to report their income and pay taxes in the same currency they have operated in, and not in the sovereign …

Bitcoin (BTC) has a substantial liberating potential, American mainstream newspaper Time reports on Dec. 28. The aforementioned article claims that “speculation, fraud, and greed in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry have overshadowed the real, liberating potential of Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention.” According to the article’s author, Bitcoin “can be a valuable financial tool as a censorship-resistant medium of exchange.” Alejandro Machado, a cryptocurrency researcher at the Open Money Initiative, reportedly said that the fee on a wire transfer from the United States to Venezuela can be as high as 56 percent. To circumvent such conditions, Venezuelans have reportedly turned to cryptocurrency, …

American fast food chain Church’s Chicken has started accepting payments in cryptocurrency Dash (DASH) at its locations in Venezuela, according to an official Facebook announcement on Dec. 12. According to Dash News, the cryptocurrency is accepted in all 10 restaurant locations in Venezuela. Dash has also completed its first transaction at Church’s Chicken and uploaded a video of the event on its official YouTube channel. The restaurant claims to be the first global fast food chain to accept payments in crypto. The announcement from Church’s chicken follows some confusion regarding the acceptance of Dash at major fast food vendors in …