On March 17, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced a comprehensive restructuring of the National Superintendency of Crypto Assets (Sunacrip) – the country’s top regulatory authority overseeing crypto. While the specific reasons for the reorganization have not been disclosed, Maduro’s administration claims that the move aims to shield Venezuelan citizens from the adverse impacts of economic sanctions, among other objectives.

Anabel Pereira Fernández, an accomplished lawyer who formerly served as the president of the Fondo de Garantía de Depositos y Protección Bancaria, the Venezuelan equivalent of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, will spearhead the new board leading the restructuring.

Other key members of the board include Héctor Andrés Obregón Pérez, Luis Alberto Pérez González, and Julio César Mora Sánchez. The board’s primary responsibility will be devising and implementing the next phase of Sunacrip’s development.

In what comes as a surprising development to some, the reorganization excludes Joselit Ramirez, who acted as the founding director of Sunacrip since its activation in 2018. Local Venezuelan media sources report that Ramirez has recently been arrested on corruption charges on the same day the restructuring was announced — which would indicate much more than a coincidence.

Ramirez had been a target for U.S. authorities for some time, with the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) branch of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency adding him to its Most Wanted List in June 2020.

The HSI even issued a bounty of up to $5 million for information that could lead to Ramirez’s capture. U.S. authorities alleged that he had “deep political, social, and economic ties” to suspected narcotic kingpins, including Tareck El Aissami, the former vice president of Venezuela.

Worth noting, Ramirez’s bounty was the smallest among the alleged co-conspirators, as the U.S. government under the Trump administration offered $15 million USD for the capture of Venezuela’s leader, Maduro. Several other high-ranking officials, such as El Aissami, face bounties of $10 million USD each.

The sweeping changes within Sunacrip come amid growing concerns over the potential misuse of cryptocurrencies in the country, although the Venezuelan government has been pushing for greater adoption of its national cryptocurrency, the Petro, since its inception in 2018. However, the Petro has faced widespread criticism and skepticism, with detractors arguing that it is primarily used to circumvent international sanctions and facilitate illicit activities.

As the new board takes control at Sunacrip, it remains to be seen what measures they will implement to address these concerns and restore public confidence in the country’s crypto landscape. The restructuring also raises questions about the future of the Petro and whether the reorganized board will continue to promote its adoption or pursue alternative strategies.

Ultimately, the success of Venezuela’s crypto regulatory overhaul will depend on the new board’s ability to strike a balance between fostering innovation and ensuring transparency, while mitigating the risks associated with illicit activities and the potential misuse of digital currencies. From a broader perspective, however, Latin America in general appears to be maintaining a healthy and impressive rate of crypto adoption.

In other news, Federal Reserve’s instant payment system FedNow to launch in July.