28.03.2024

Venezuela’s Cryptocurrency Plans Draw Ire at US Senate Hearing

Held by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which kicked off at 10 a.m. EST, the event notably saw CFTC chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo and SEC chair Jay Clayton discuss and respond to a range of questions, including the possibility their role as market regulators could be bolstered by new laws.

However, it was the issue of actions by other nations that saw notable discussion later in the session, when talked turned to Venezuela and the recent public boasts by President Nicolas Maduro that the country could create an ethereum-based cryptocurrency to avoid sanctions.

The issue was prominently raised by New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, who asked whether both agencies would play any role in preventing the use of the cryptocurrency, which could be pegged to Venezuelan oil production, to avoid U.S. financial sanctions.

He also highlighted reports that Russia’s government is considering a similar initiative.

Clayton and Giancarlo largely demurred on their answers, but the latter stated that the CFTC «wouldn’t hesitate» to act if the cryptocurrency were used specifically in an attempt to defraud U.S. consumers.

«We would certainly look at it,» he went on to say.

Venezuela’s controversial plan to create an oil-backed cryptocurrency saw debate and discussion at a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday.

Menendez blasted Venezuela’s plan in a January letter sent to the U.S. Treasury Department, which he co-authored with Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

«We have serious doubts about whether Venezuela has the capacity to launch a cryptocurrency”, the two wrote at the time. «But regardless, it is imperative that the U.S. Treasury Department is equipped with tools and enforcement mechanisms to combat the use of cryptocurrency to evade U.S. sanctions in general, and in this case in particular.»

One thought on “Venezuela’s Cryptocurrency Plans Draw Ire at US Senate Hearing

  1. In 2009, the country’s government adopted several fiat currencies like the US dollar and South African rand as a legal tender after hyperinflation turned the local dollar virtually worthless

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