The Superintendencia Nacional de ‘Criptoactivos y Actividades Conexas’ (SUNACRIP), Venezuela’s state-owned cryptocurrency division, has ramped up layoffs following a recent corruption scandal.
According to former employees, a case of corruption in the public body led the government of Nicolás Maduro to reorganize SUNACRIP’s attributions. Employees did not risk losing their jobs with the news, but in practice that did not happen.
That is because in recent days, several employees, many of whom were not even aware of the corruption case, ended up losing their jobs. The information comes from TalCual, a local Venezuelan portal that spoke to laid-off people.
Venezuela fires state-owned cryptocurrency division officials
During the reorganization of the institution following the corruption scandal, all indications are that the Maduro government has revoked the tenure of SUNACRIP officials.
Employees indicate that they have received a statement stating that they will no longer have to go to work after Easter, which means that they will no longer have to go to work from next Monday (10).
“Anything we call you back,” says the statement to employees. Several former officials did not understand the government’s measures, but are afraid to denounce the matter and face reprisals from a regime with various international accusations that it is authoritarian.
It is also noteworthy that SUNACRIP not only laid off regular employees, but also laid off coordinators and other positions. However, many now think they are in limbo and have not been told whether they will receive their wages normally, or whether the government will make a deal with everyone.
SUNACRIP symbols are removed from buildings
What has attracted even more attention, besides the firings of officials in Venezuela’s cryptocurrency division, is that SUNACRIP symbols are starting to disappear from buildings.
As the cryptocurrency agency has been linked to a corruption scandal and undergoing drastic changes, it is not yet clear whether the government intends to rename the agency, or whether the past will simply disappear.
The problems surrounding SUNACRIP are compounded by the fact that Venezuela’s national cryptocurrency, the Petro, appears to be holding users’ values in its wallet. On social media, many users complain that they used to trust the government system, but have now been unable to access their own money since March.
The Venezuelan situation regarding the cryptocurrency market has escalated into a growing authoritarianism, which has even imposed the suspension of cryptocurrency brokerage services and miners. It is not yet clear what may happen in the future, but the community fears that the country will again close the doors on cryptocurrencies after years of using the technology.
Source: Live Coins

Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.