Encryption-enabled neobank Wallbit has announced that it is suspending service to Venezuelan users following a call from its US banking partners. The platform announced that the move is a direct result of the economic sanctions the country is currently facing and that Venezuelans outside the country will continue to receive service.
Wallbit to scale back services to Venezuelan users
Cryptocurrency-based neobank Wallbit, which advertised that it could open bank accounts for U.S. users, has announced that it will stop serving users residing in Venezuela.
The platform issued a press release on February 24, revealing that its banking associates are calling for the closure of all accounts opened by Venezuelan users residing in Venezuela, even though Wallbit has not indicated a date by which these accounts will be closed. told users to withdraw their funds as soon as possible.
The company clarified that Venezuelan users living abroad can continue to use its services, but they need to contact its support in this situation. This situation could affect Venezuelan freelancers who use the platform to collect wages abroad and convert them into ciphers.
Another platform will be closed due to sanctions
Wallbit revealed that the reason for this sudden decision is directly related to the sanctions currently being exercised by the US government against some Venezuelan citizens and state-owned companies in the country. The company declared in a press release that,:
We would like to clarify that this account closure is due to the sanctions that the U.S. government is imposing against Venezuela. As such, we are obligated to disable the creation of new accounts and disable new deposits from accounts created by users residing in Venezuela.
This is not the first time a financial platform has cut ties with Venezuelan users due to the risk of sanctions; in June, Uphold, a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange and investment platform, also announced that “complying with U.S. sanctions is increasingly complicated to become more complicated,” and announced that it would be closing the accounts of its Venezuelan users.
Similarly, Paxful, a P2P cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it would cease offering services in the country in 2020. At the time, the platform cited “concerns about the regulatory situation around Venezuela and Paxful’s own risk tolerance” as the main reasons for this decision.
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