Venezuela Looks to Tether to Bypass Sanctions: Reuters

Venezuela's state-run oil company started experimenting with Tether in 2023

Venezuela is using USDT to bypass sanctions, Reuters reported.

• This is the country's second experiment with crypto as a means to bypass sanctions.

Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, is looking to Tether (USDT) as a means to bypass new sanctions placed on it by the United States, Reuters reported.

Reuters reported that PDVSA is trying to integrate more usage of USDT as a hedge against having foreign bank accounts frozen. Tether is the world's largest dollar-pegged stablecoin.

Tether did not respond to a request for comment by CoinDesk by press time.

Reuters reported that PDVSA uses intermediaries when trading crypto in order to obfuscate the on-chain trail.

Venezuela launched its first experiment with crypto in 2018 as a way to bypass the dollar, but it never really took off, with no major exchanges accepting it and the government sunsetting the program in early 2024.