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Venezuela is using USDT to bypass sanctions, Reuters reported.
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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.
Edited by Omkar Godbole.