In a significant move reflecting efforts to adhere to
international financial sanctions, Binance has dropped Banco de Venezuela from
its peer-to-peer (P2P) trading services. This action comes in the wake of
similar steps taken against sanctioned Russian banks last week.
Formerly holding the
third spot with over 11% market share, Banco de Venezuela was acquired by the
Venezuelan government in 2009 after being sold by Spanish Bank Santander for approximately USD $1 billion.
However, sanctions were imposed on the Venezuelan
government officials and affiliated institutions by the US Treasury Department
in 2019 for alleged corruption.
While Banco de Venezuela’s removal from Binance’s P2P has raised concerns in
the nation, other private Venezuelan banks like Banesco, Banplus, and BBVA
Provincial remain available for P2P crypto trading.
The recent attention to
including sanctioned financial institutions as payment options on
cryptocurrency platforms started when Tinkoff Bank and Rosbank appeared in
Binance as transfer methods. However, following a Wall Street Journal report,
these options were swiftly
removed by the exchange. The
affected banks have faced sanctions due to Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine
conflict.
Despite the claims made
against Binance, the exchange
