Venezuela, one of the early adopters of cryptocurrency regulation in Latin America with the establishment of the Superintendencia Nacional de Criptoactivos (Sunacrip) in 2018, is set to extend the restructuring period for this regulatory entity by an additional six months. This decision comes after Sunacrip was originally slated to close in March 2023.
A presidential decree issued on September 19 revealed that President Nicolas Maduro has authorized the extension of Sunacrip's restructuring period. The extension officially began on September 17 and is now scheduled to continue until March 24, 2024.
Sunacrip's closure in March 2023 was prompted by a government-initiated reorganization following a corruption scandal involving some of its top executives. During this time, around 10 individuals, including Joselit Ramirez Camacho, who had led the cryptocurrency unit since its inception in 2018, were arrested. Venezuelan prosecutors alleged that Ramirez embezzled over $3 million from the state during his tenure at Sunacrip. This unit was responsible for overseeing the country's cryptocurrency regulations and the implementation of the petro, Venezuela's national cryptocurrency tied to its oil reserves.
The shutdown of this regulatory body has thrown Venezuela's cryptocurrency industry into disarray. This industry, closely associated with the state, had been utilizing digital assets to circumvent economic sanctions imposed by the United States. The closure resulted in the shutdown of cryptocurrency mining facilities in various states and the cessation of operations for certain cryptocurrency exchanges.
Sunacrip was originally established by the Venezuelan government in 2018 with the mandate to oversee all cryptocurrency-related business activities in the country. This encompassed activities related to the "creation, issuance, transfer, commercialization, and exchange" of all cryptocurrency assets.
In 2018, Venezuela introduced an oil-backed cryptocurrency known as the Petro. As of the summer of 2023, there were reports indicating that the government was contemplating the liquidation of this cryptocurrency; however, at the time of writing, its official website remained operational.
