Venezuelan authorities have ordered
to halt cryptocurrency mining back in April, at the same time that they launched an investigation against a major corruption scheme in which cryptocurrencies were allegedly used to divert payments owed to state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela.
The investigation is now in its third month, with a possible date for the state to lift its ban on cryptocurrency mining remaining uncertain.
Venezuelan media reports, citing representatives of national mining companies, that more than 75,000 pieces of equipment have now been disabled. By comparison, about that much belongs to one of the largest mining companies in the world, Riot Platforms.
Law enforcement authorities in Venezuela have begun inspecting the mining companies to see if the funds used to buy the equipment came from sources linked to corruption in the oil industry.
“It’s unfortunate that after dealing with so many problems with formalization and regulatory rules, we find ourselves in such a sad situation,” said Alexis Lugo, head of the Criptoneros Education Project.
Amid the uncertainty of the future, mining companies experiencing a severe shortage of funds to sustain their businesses are being forced to cease operations and declare liquidation.
In another blow.
to the cryptocurrency industry was another blow to the credibility of Venezuelan authorities by the fact that almost simultaneously with the start of the Petroleos de Venezuela investigation, the largest bank Banco de Venezuela fell victim to an attack by a cryptocurrency ransomware that demanded ransom in cryptocurrency to decrypt and restore access to data.