Venezuela Pays for Imports From Iran and Turkey With Bitcoin to Evade Sanctions

Venezuela is reportedly paying companies in allied countries, including Iran and Turkey, with bitcoin to mitigate the effects of U.S. sanctions on its economy. The Venezuelan government is also planning to increase bitcoin usage now that it has a dedicated cryptocurrency mining center.

Venezuela Uses Bitcoin to Pay for Imports

Venezuela has been using bitcoin to pay for imports from allied countries, local news outlet Runrun.es reported this week.

The government of President Nicolas Maduro is also planning to increase its usage of bitcoin in trade now that the Venezuelan Army is actively mining the cryptocurrency at its recently inaugurated crypto mining center, the publication added, quoting sources from the Central Bank of Venezuela as saying:

Payments to companies from allied countries, such as Iran or Turkey, have been made through bitcoins.

Maduro explained that the country’s anti-blockade law allows him to “use all the cryptocurrencies in the world, public, state or private, for internal and external trade,” announcing that some important projects are already in development.

This law was approved in October by the pro-government National Constituent Assembly. It provides a wide range of tools aimed at mitigating the effects of U.S. sanctions placed on the Venezuelan economy.

Among other provisions, the anti-blockade law grants the Executive Branch (Maduro and his ministers) the power to authorize “the creation and implementation of any financial mechanism, including the use of crypto assets and instruments based on blockchain technology,” the news outlet conveyed.

Venezuela is not the only country attempting to use bitcoin to evade sanctions. Iran is also in the process of establishing a legal framework to allow the central bank to buy bitcoin directly from miners operating in the country to pay for imports.