Venezuela opposition party has gained access to $18 million, which will be distributed to health care workers

By Selena On Aug 22, 2020

The cryptocurrency exchange AirTM in Venezuela has been selected to redistribute $ 18 million worth of funds seized from the country’s controversial Maduro government. After trying to block the distribution, activists provided users with instructions on how to use the VPN.

Venezuela opposition government plans to distribute $ 18 million of funds

After seizing funds from the Maduro government in April, American authorities have now granted Venezuela’s opposition access to said funds. The $ 18 million in question will be distributed to 62,000 healthcare workers in the country beginning on Monday.

They will be able to claim $ 100 per month for three months.

Venezuela’s opposition party has chosen AirTM to distribute the funds, apparently due to its popularity as a peer-to-peer crypto exchange.

1/ An absolutely incredible story out of Venezuela today. @theairtm, a @Coinbase funded digital currency exchange, has been elected to redistribute $18M in US government seized corruption funds of the Maduro government back to 62,000 healthcare workers in Venezuela.

— Matt Ahlborg [UsefulTulips.org] (@MattAhlborg) August 21, 2020

However, it is not clear whether recipients will receive Bitcoin, real-world currency, or AirTM dollars as part of the giveaway.

The fact that AirTM is willing to resist Nicolas Maduro’s game is also important.

The Maduro government attempted to block access to the exchange this week. In response, AirTM published instructions on how to bypass that block by using VPN software.

AirTM is not the first cryptocurrency company to redistribute funds as part of its philanthropic efforts. Coinbase and Binance have been carrying out fundraising efforts for a variety of reasons, and AirTM has also been involved in past cryptocurrency releases such as Venezuela’s Airdrop.

However, those efforts largely adhere to rules and requirements set forth by governments and regulators.

In contrast, the current actions of AirTM are subversive. By making this transfer, it has aligned itself with acting President Juan Guaidó and pitted Maduro. Although the United States and many other countries support Guaidó, getting AirTM into the controversy is a risk many crypto companies may not be willing to accept.

Crypto companies, on the other hand, do not have the perfect freedom to distribute money.

AirTM is still at the mercy of standard regulations and KYC/AML laws. It, therefore, has the power to deny payments to any user—especially if any authority pressures it to do so.

Read more: