Freezing Addresses to Stop Sanctions Evasion in Venezuelan Oil Exports

Tether’s Response to Sanction Evasion Allegations

Tether, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDT, has announced its intention to freeze addresses associated with sanctioned entities. This move comes in response to allegations that Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, has been utilizing Tether to bypass sanctions imposed on its crude oil and fuel exports.

USDT Used to Bypass Oil Sanctions

A recent report highlighted the alleged use of cryptocurrencies by PDVSA to facilitate its oil exports amidst newly reimposed oil sanctions by the United States. The U.S. Treasury Department has mandated that PDVSA customers and providers wind down transactions by May 31 due to Venezuela’s failure to implement electoral reforms.

• The reimposed sanctions pose challenges for Venezuela in expanding its oil production and exports.
• PDVSA has reportedly turned to Tether for its oil sales to mitigate the risk of funds being frozen in foreign bank accounts.
• New customers engaging in oil transactions with PDVSA are required to hold cryptocurrency in a digital wallet.

Tether’s Market Cap and Compliance Efforts

In early March, Tether’s USDT surpassed a market capitalization of $100 billion, with a growth of 9% year-to-date. Despite its success, concerns about the quality of assets backing USDT have lingered in the crypto space.

• USDT maintains a significant lead in market cap over its closest competitor, USD Coin (USDC).
• Tether aims to prevent the circumvention of sanctions and reinforce compliance efforts by freezing addresses associated with sanctioned entities.

Tether’s Collaborations and Initiatives

Tether has partnered with digital assets infrastructure provider Fuze to enhance education and awareness surrounding digital assets in Turkey and the Middle East. The collaboration aims to address various aspects of education within the digital asset realm, including cross-border payment solutions, compliance, regulatory framework development, and education for local financial institutions.