Recently, the outside energy circle's recent struggles seem to have little to do with the crypto world, but in fact, there are many underlying connections. The US energy department's recent shift in attitude towards Venezuela's oil trade directly affects whether some channels that bypass sanctions through encryption can continue to operate. If you really delve into this matter, you need to first understand the path Venezuela has taken over the years.

Speaking of which, Venezuela's situation is somewhat ironic—possessing the world's richest oil resources, yet managing to collapse its economy. The Maduro government once made a bold attempt to break through international sanctions: launching the world's first state-backed cryptocurrency product, Petro. According to official statements, 1 Petro equals 1 barrel of oil, which sounds quite tempting. But what happened? This experiment became a well-known failure in the crypto circle. The promised oil wells had long been rusted and could not fulfill the commitments. The technical architecture was highly centralized; the government could change the rules at will, ultimately turning into a tool for rent-seeking. By 2024, it was shut down with little fanfare.

What’s more intriguing is that the same government, while strictly cracking down on private crypto activities, itself heavily uses stablecoins to settle oil exports. There are also rumors that they secretly accumulated hundreds of billions worth of Bitcoin as a "shadow reserve" to hedge against fiat currency devaluation.

Now, the actions of the United States have changed the situation. Through recent negotiations, the US has gained control over the sales channels of several million barrels of Venezuelan oil, claiming it is "considering both parties' interests." But from another perspective, this is merely strengthening control over the petrodollar settlement system and closing the gaps used by those trying to avoid international financial sanctions through encryption. Venezuela has long been a testing ground for the intersection of traditional financial sanctions and crypto financial innovation. This change could reshape some existing trading patterns. For traders with related exposure, this signal is worth paying attention to.