CARACAS, Venezuela, Wednesday, August 13, 2024- Venezuela has blocked access to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, amid a wave of civil unrest and soaring inflation following a contentious presidential election.
The disruption has sparked concern among Venezuelan crypto users, who rely on such platforms as a hedge against the country’s volatile economic conditions.
On Saturday, Binance assured Venezuelan users via social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that their funds remain secure despite the access restrictions.
“Like several websites of companies from different segments in Venezuela, including social networks, Binance pages have been facing access restrictions,” Binance Latin America’s X handle said in a post.
“We want to assure you that your funds are SAFU under our robust security protocols. We understand the inconvenience and concern this situation may cause. We are monitoring the situation closely to address it in the best and quickest way possible,” it said.
The restrictions on Binance were first reported by VE sin Filtro, a Venezuelan non-governmental organization (NGO) that monitors internet censorship.
The block appears to be a DNS (Domain Name System) restriction, which prevents users in Venezuela from accessing the site.
This move comes as Venezuela experiences a civil unrest following last month’s presidential election, in which incumbent Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner by the National Electoral Council.
The election has been widely criticized, with the White House expressing doubt over the legitimacy of the results.
Amid political turmoil, Venezuela is also grappling with massive inflation.
Projections by German data firm Statista suggest that the country could see inflation rates soar to 150% next year, further exacerbating the financial crisis for Venezuelans.
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