Taking Additional Steps to Address the Situation in Venezuela

This executive order prohibits U.S. persons and transactions within the U.S. from dealing with any digital currency, coin, or token issued by the Venezuelan government on or after January 9, 2018, effectively banning participation in Venezuela's Petro cryptocurrency. The order took effect immediately upon signing and authorizes Treasury to implement enforcement rules without prior notice to affected parties.

Federal Register Open PDF 83 FR 12469

Impact dates

Mar 19, 2018
Order effective — prohibitions on Venezuelan digital currencies take effect

Key directives

Prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within U.S. related to Venezuelan government digital currencies issued on or after January 9, 2018
Prohibit evasion, avoidance, and conspiracy to violate prohibitions
Authorize Treasury Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations to implement order
Waive prior notice requirement for enforcement actions

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

Prohibition on all transactions involving Venezuelan government digital currencies effective at 12:15 p.m. EDT March 19, 2018
No prior notice required for enforcement actions

Near term (90d)

Treasury to promulgate implementing rules and regulations
Agencies to take appropriate measures to carry out order provisions

Long term

Ongoing sanctions enforcement against Venezuelan digital currency evasion
Potential expansion of sanctions framework to other digital asset-based circumvention

Risks & tensions

No explicit deadline for Treasury rulemaking — 'such actions' language leaves timing discretionary
Broad definition of 'Government of Venezuela' captures PdVSA and Central Bank, creating compliance complexity for energy and commodity markets
Retroactive cutoff date of January 9, 2018 may create uncertainty for transactions in intervening period
Immediate effective date with no prior notice raises due process concerns flagged in text itself