Binance Faces Access Restrictions in Venezuela
Date: 2024-08-13 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
Users of the largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance in Venezuela have encountered difficulties accessing the site, the company announced in a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). "Like many other companies in various sectors, including social media, Binance's pages in Venezuela have faced access restrictions," the exchange said on Friday. Binance also stressed that it is "closely monitoring the situation to resolve the issue as quickly and efficiently as possible" and assured users that their funds are safe thanks to the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU).
According to human rights organization VE sin Filtro, Venezuela's state-owned telecommunications and internet provider CANTV is blocking access to Amazon CloudFront, leading to multiple blockages of various web resources.
The restrictions come shortly after President Nicolás Maduro announced that access to the social network X would be blocked for 10 days in order to "put an end to plans to spread violence, hatred and attacks against Venezuela from abroad."
Tensions in Venezuela have increased since the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 presidential election. According to the council, with 80% of the votes counted, Maduro received 51.2%, while his main rival, Edmundo González Urrutia, received 44.2%. No official figures have been released, and the opposition has accused the election of fraud, claiming that their tallies show González Urrutia winning with 67% of the vote to Maduro's 30% after 83% of the ballots were counted.
The information blackout, which has intensified since X's suspension, comes amid widespread reports of detentions and human rights violations, including "credible information about detentions, injuries and deaths, as well as violence by security forces," the UN said in a statement.
