Venezuela blocks Binance and X

The crypto exchange and social media platform are under new government restrictions following unrest in the country.

The Venezuelan government has restricted access to Binance, as well as to the social media platform X and other online services blocked.

On Aug. 9, local anti-censorship organization VE sin Filtro posted on X that they had observed a DNS blockade against the crypto exchange. Customers can bypass the blockade for now via a VPN connection, the organization said. Binance, meanwhile, assured its customers that their cryptos remain secure.

"We want to assure you that your funds are safe under our robust security protocols SAFU," the platform stated in a Tweet.

Among Venezuelans, the exchange's Peer-to-Peer (P2P) service is especially popular, allowing them to exchange cash directly for crypto. The service offers locals a way out of the highly inflationary national currency, the Bolívar.

The government's actions follow unrest over the controversial results of the presidential election. There are doubts about the victory of Nicolás Maduro, who still has not released the details of the votes.

According to Reuters the sitting president ordered telecom regulator Conatel to block access to X in the country for 10 days as a result of the unrest. The messaging service Signal was also reportedly affected.

Since the alleged re-election, President Maduro has also been at odds with X-boss Elon Musk. The latter had publicly denounced the election, calling Maduro a "dictator."

Maduro responded by challenging the tech billionaire to a fistfight with the president.