Uphold highlighted that the magnitude of the punishments is so high that it prevents them from giving their service in the country. Venezuela represents 2% of the total transaction volume of the entity in 2022.
The Farewell of Uphold from Venezuela arrives at a difficult time. The platform for the exchange of bitcoin, digital assets, and currencies reaffirmed that it is abandoning the nation due to the series of punishments imposed by the United States of America since 2017 on state entities and representatives of the national administration.
Although the relationship between the administration of Joe Biden and Nicolás Maduro has worsened over the years, a recent relaxation of financial punishments seemed like a relief for the entity. However, this slight relaxation did not stop Uphold from deciding to move on from the oil nation.
The recent procedures highlighted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, dependent on the United States Department of the Treasury, have generated more difficulty in complying with the financial punishments on Venezuela. Unfortunately, this has left uphold off guard and now has to stop carrying out its activities in that nation.
Uphold said about the possibility of suspending the features only to the entities or officials that appear on the OFAC list and not to the entire Venezuelan market and pointed out that the magnitude of the sanctions makes it hard to continue working in the country.
Uphold also highlighted that the recent complaints about account suspensions of Venezuelan users do not get linked to their exit from the local market.
Venezuela and Uphold
According to the company, the Venezuelan market was one of the first to benefit from Uphold’s services. Regarding the number of active users and the transaction volumes registered in 2022, the company preferred not to expose data related to that subject. Despite this situation, the platform highlighted that Venezuela represents approximately 2% of Uphold’s total transaction volume this year.
The suspension of Uphold’s services for Venezuelan users will not affect Uphold’s activities worldwide nor its current financial status. But the company expressed they are deeply sorry to abandon the nation because Venezuela was one of the first countries to receive Uphold; the network had an active and solid community.
According to Uphold’s transparency report, the company maintains a volume of transactions of about 30,000 million dollars worldwide. In Venezuela, at least 600 million dollars got traded annually.
Would Uphold Ever Return to a Country Like Venezuela?
Uphold’s services have been gaining popularity among Venezuelans for years. The reason is that the country has maintained certain relaxations since 2003, and Uphold is the only entity with direct access to foreign assets. This status encouraged users to use alternatives such as exchange houses, being Uphold one of the best options to carry out financial activities in that area.
Currently, the Venezuelan administration maintains exchange control. However, it has granted freedoms so that commercial establishments, or natural persons, trade with assets such as the United States dollar, but they must pay more taxes.
By: Jenson Nuñez
