Anonymous sources have reported that Venezuela has already paid companies in its allied countries with Bitcoin. The Venezuelan Army has a Bitcoin mining farm in the city of Caracas.
To evade the trade sanctions that the United States has imposed on Venezuela, the Venezuelan government could be turning to Bitcoin to trade with its allied countries, among which are Turkey and Iran.
According to local media, anonymous sources from the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) have reported that the Venezuelan government has already paid companies from both countries, using Bitcoin as a means of commercial exchange.
No one knows yet what the abovementioned payments correspond to. However, it is public knowledge that the South American country imports food that comes from Turkey to incorporate it into its food subsidy system. Another more recent development has been the shortage of fuel, which has caused Iran to send gasoline to Venezuelan territory.
These same sources state that the Anti-Blockade Law, in force since mid-October, has served to strengthen the legal framework that makes these transactions with Bitcoin possible. Through this legal instrument, the Executive can create or use any financial mechanism, such as “crypto assets and instruments based on blockchain technology” to achieve its objectives.
When presenting the draft of this law, the president of Venezuela claimed that it would serve to “enhance the use of Petro and other Venezuelan and world cryptocurrencies in domestic and foreign trade. It would thus be possible to use all public, state, and private cryptocurrencies in the world.”
The authorities of the South American country have tried to find trading pairs to use Petro, but it has not yet been possible. According to the statements of the BCV sources, the government of Venezuela has found interest on the part of Iran and Turkey only with the use of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Mining Farm in Fuerte Tiuna, Caracas
It is important to notice that in addition to the anonymity of the sources and the absence of official statements in this regard, it is logical that the Venezuelan government is resorting to payments with Bitcoin. That is true, especially if they have a mining farm for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at their disposal in Fuerte Tiuna, a military complex located in Caracas, the capital of the South American country.
In that place, there is a “Center for the Production of Digital Assets” where cryptocurrency mining occurs to finance the government with assets that allow circumventing international sanctions.
The commander of the brigade in charge of that activity, General Lenin Herrera, said that they created that farm precisely to produce resources that no one can intervene when conducting international transactions.
The Venezuelan government has been exploring the possibility of adopting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to access international trade for at least two years. Through this cryptocurrency adoption, Venezuela has bypassed the sanctions that weigh on its activities, particularly those from the United States Department of the Treasury.
By Alexander Salazar
