Cryptocurrency exchange Uphold has reportedly closed its operation in Venezuela as a result of the U.S sanction
A cryptocurrency exchange based in New York called Uphold has stated it is ceasing operations in the Venezuelan market. The business claims that its decision to leave Venezuela has to do with the “complexity of complying with U.S. sanctions,” even though it has already had issues with customers there, closing accounts, and enforcing KYC requirements that some users thought excessive.
Uphold Leaves Venezuela Due To US Sanctions
Uphold, a cryptocurrency exchange and stock trading platform with headquarters in New York has declared that it will no longer accept payments from residents of Venezuela.
The business, which, according to its own data, provides services to more than 184 nations, claims that the current political situation between Venezuela and the U.S. is to blame for this choice.
Uphold declared in an email issued to the exchange’s Venezuelan users:
We´re very sorry to tell you that Uphold has decided to withdraw from Venezuela owing to the increasing complexity of complying with U.S. sanctions. Venezuela was one of the first countries to embrace Uphold and we love serving our customers there. We are taking this step very reluctantly.
Door Not Closed Forever
The business did add, though, that it intends to return to Venezuelan markets as soon as the circumstances permit.
The company has instructed Venezuelan consumers to withdraw their funds before July 31 using bank accounts linked to their Uphold accounts or via bitcoin transfers as the company is not allowing new users from Venezuela to register accounts. Additionally, the exchange will instantly terminate any accounts that have no balance.
The exchange has reportedly experienced challenges and operational issues when operating in Venezuela before. According to an Instagram user organization, several Venezuelan users have already reported losing access to their accounts and dealing with irrational requests for information regarding their platform transactions. Additionally, a few people claimed that their accounts had been terminated mysteriously.
Some users who followed Uphold’s advice and attempted to withdraw their money are now griping on social networking sites that their accounts are in a “normal revision” condition. Due to undisclosed details, it is unclear if this is a measure implemented for all Venezuelans on the site or just to certain.
Due to sanctions, other services and wallets have also targeted Venezuelans. Due to a misconfiguration brought on by U.S. sanction guidelines in March, Infura, one of the organizations offering endpoint connections for Metamask, a well-known Web3 wallet, denied access to Venezuelan customers.
