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Bitcoin Websites Blocked by Venezuelan Government

Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:45 PM
George Donnelly
Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:45 PM

CANTV, Venezuela’s state-owned and largest Internet service provider, has blocked, as of this morning, many Bitcoin-related domain names, websites and mining pools, according to  Redditor rdymac.

Among those confirmed to be blocked by the redditor are:

  • coindesk.com
  • blockchain.info
  • blinktrade.com
  • surbitcoin.com
  • miningrigrentals.com
  • nicehash.com
  • btc-e.com
  • coinapult.com
  • coinbase.com

Venezuela’s two local exchanges have also been blocked by CANTV, according to the redditor.

The ISP is CANTV, managed by the institution CONATEL, and is very well known by their blockades to any website that doesn’t follow the Government’s endless rules or are suspected to be supporting any kind of opposition against the Socialist government, rdymac added in his post.

Bitcoin Users Impacted

Carlos Chirinos, an avid Bitcoin businessman from outside of Maracaibo told CCN.com this morning that he was busy adjusting to the government Bitcoin blockade.

Without Bitcoin, I’m nothing. It’s necessary for me to do business with Bitcoin because just one day without it and I lose money on the investment platforms I work with.

Jose Luis Escalona, a Bitcoin user from Valencia, Venezuela’s third-largest city, uses Bitcoin to save and thinks the government’s move will only cause the price of Bitcoin to rise.

To be honest, this kind of move from this authoritarian regime does not surprise me. But I’ll tell you something, neither in China nor in Russia have they been able to block the use of Bitcoin. Venezuela will not be the first to try nor the last to fail in the intent, Jose Luis Escalona told CCN.com.

Jesús Durán Franco, a Caracas resident, says a Bitcoin blockade was only a question of time and doesn’t think the government will reverse it anytime soon:

They aim to impoverish the people so that there are more and more all the time who depend on the government

Image from Shutterstock.