Venezuelan Central Bank is Considering Holding Bitcoin and Ether

Venezuela’s central bank is exploring the possibilities of holding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in its coffers, according to anonymous sources who reportedly have direct insights into the matter.

Can the central bank store Bitcoin and Ether?

According to a Sept. 26 Bloomberg article, the central bank of Venezuela is taking a closer look at whether they have the possibility to store cryptocurrencies. 

The state-run oil and gas company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PSDV), had requested the central bank look into the matter after the oil producer ran into difficulties receiving payments from international clients due to U.S. sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s current regime.

The unnamed sources said that the PSDV is looking to transfer Bitcoin and Ether to the Venezuelan central bank and then have the central institution pay its suppliers in cryptocurrencies.

Crypto could count toward international reserves

In the hope of overcoming its isolation from the global financial system, the Venezuelan central bank is reportedly studying proposals that would see cryptocurrencies counted toward the country’s international reserves, which currently sit at a 30-year low of $7.9 billion. 

Venezuela received its first Bitcoin ATM

Cointelegraph reported in September that after multiple false starts, Venezuela’s first crypto ATM was installed in the city of San Antonio del Táchira. The Latin American firm Panda BTM installed the machine which supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and DASH, as well as the official currency of Venezuela and Colombian pesos.