Bitfinex, the world’s biggest Bitcoin exchange by trading volume, on Tuesday said it would not be updating its list of Cryptocurrencies on offer to add Venezuela’s newly released cryptocurrency, the petro.
In its blog post explaining the decision, Bitfinex pointed to United States President Donald Trump’s executive order which prohibits US citizens from engaging in transactions using the oil-backed digital currency.
Bitfinex explained that as of the date of its statement, it had no “plans to include the PTR or similar tokens in the Bitfinex trading platform.”
Bitfinex said that it would always consider elements such as Liquidity and security when evaluating possible inclusions. The popular crypto exchange has also barred its contractors and employees from buying, selling, trading, and transacting in any way with the PTR, effective immediately.
“This restriction extends to all customers of the platform, including US persons, and to all activities on Bitfinex, including deposits, financing, trading, and withdrawals," it further stated.
In spite of the attention-grabbing headlines, Venezuela’s own cryptocurrency hit another snag last week, as US authorities once more sounded the bell to remind American investors about the sanctions that the US maintain on the South American country.
The decision bars all people and companies subject to US jurisdiction from touching the newly-issued virtual coin, since it constitutes, in essence, a government debt issuance. Trump authorized the US Treasury Department to issue any necessary regulations to enforce his order.
In the meantime, some analysts argue the vast majority of frenzy surrounding PTR is either a scam or far too ambitious for its own good.
Earlier in December, the CFTC ordered Bitfinex to provide more information about Tether, which is a token backed by US dollar deposits, with each token always worth one dollar, as both Bitfinex and Tether share the same CEO, Jan Ludovicus van der Velde.