TechFlow News, February 24: According to Criptonoticias, cryptocurrency exchange Binance has recently implemented stricter risk controls on Venezuelan users’ access to bank card payment channels. Official notices indicate that purchases of cryptocurrencies using bank-issued cards from Venezuelan financial institutions—as well as U.S. dollar-denominated virtual cards issued in Panama (e.g., Zinli or Wally)—are now facing high rejection rates and operational restrictions.
Users are primarily encountering issues such as failed SMS verification code delivery, additional restrictions on virtual cards, and the complete disappearance of certain payment options for specific accounts. This situation has led to a significant increase in customer service requests to Binance.
Analysts suggest these restrictions are linked to Venezuela’s current “exchange-rate arbitrage” phenomenon: users purchase U.S. dollars at the official exchange rate, transfer them to international debit cards, buy USDT on Binance, and then profit by selling the USDT on peer-to-peer (P2P) markets at higher exchange rates.
