Various countries suffer from embargoes and trade sanctions imposed upon them by the United States. In most cases, those sanctions seem justified, albeit it can cause financial problems for the affected parties. The three following countries are exploring cryptocurrency-related bypassing solutions, though it remains to be seen if any of these efforts can be successful.
#3 Ukraine (in Limited Fashion)
Similar to most countries, Ukraine has no active Bitcoin regulation to speak of as of now. That is not necessarily worrisome, even though Ukraine is home to a growing freelancer community, most of whom have shown an interest in cryptocurrencies. Although a lot of users explore Bitcoin in a legitimate manner, for now, one shipping company in the country took a contrarian view.
The firm, known as Varamar Ltd., has begun accepting Bitcoin payments to trade with countries suffering from embargoes and trading sanctions. Their clients include corporations in Yemen, Sudan, Qatar, and a few others. It is evident that using cryptocurrency in such a manner can improve a company’s market position. However, it also raises some questions as to how it will influence Bitcoin’s already questionable reputation.
#2 Venezuela
The Petro effort in Venezuela has been well-documented over the past few months. With this native cryptocurrency, country officials are trying to bypass US-based sanctions imposed upon the country and any of its allied countries. So far, it remains to be seen if the Petro will ever serve a purpose or introduce some real use cases, as no real progress has been made in this regard.
Backing the Petro by natural oil reserves has been a topic of debate for some time now. More specifically, there has been no indication any of Venezuela’s oil reserves are being extracted to bring value to this digital currency. Even so, President Maduro remains confident the Petro will make Venezuela great again at some point. An ambitious goal, though time will tell what comes of it.
#1 Iran
Perhaps the biggest threat in the world of bypassing trading sanctions with cryptocurrencies is Iran. The local government recently unveiled its plan to launch a national cryptocurrency. Although bypassing sanctions imposed by the US is only part of its purpose, it has become apparent that these bypasses will be the main reason for exploring such a venture.
It is expected that Iran’s national cryptocurrency will work similar to Bitcoin, though it only pertains to using a public ledger to record transactions. A lot of details regarding this particular project have yet to be fully explained moving forward, as there is no official timeline for the Iranian national cryptocurrency as of right now.
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