Latin America - Banxico / Zury / Gemini / Campos Neto / Milei
Critical Policy Intelligence for Latin America Bitcoin & Blockchain
I hope you are having a great Friday. Thanks again for reading Barracuda Briefing.
In case you missed it, here are the latest Barracuda Insights (for paying subscribers) to keep you up-to-date:
Brazil’s deputy Finance Minister Gabriel Galipolo has a turbulent road ahead with his digital currency proposal SUR | 11 January 2023
Argentina’s Finance Minister Sergio Massa discussed the SUR digital currency initiative for cross-border trade with Brazil’s FinMin Fernando Haddad | 4 January 2023
Russia made blockchain infrastructure a priority in talks with Venezuela’s Maduro | 21 December 2022
Trolls, Exiles & Sanctions threaten Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin Policy | 14 December 2022
Ricardo Salinas Pliego is grooming a second Senator for his Bitcoin ambitions | 7 December 2022
Here is the most critical policy intelligence from this week if you are a Bitcoin, blockchain and/or financial technology professional making decisions on Latin America.
Mexico’s Central Bank Banxico on 2 January said it is in the early stages of creating its CBDC. The bank now says that its Digital Peso will probably be rolled out in 2025, a delay from its 2024 target. A payment and infrastructure unit inside Banxico is charged with the project. It is not clear yet if Banxico has chosen an infrastructure provider.
Guatemalan pro-Bitcoin presidential candidate Zury Rios is leading in the polls ahead of the country’s 2023 elections. The conservative candidate and daughter of disgraced, former president Efrain Rios Montt, has expressed interest in El Salvador’s Bitcoin initiative. The two countries neighbor one another and exchange electricity through a shared grid network.
El Salvador’s National Assembly voted in favor of a digital securities law. The law was sent to congress last year and proposes a framework for issuing a volcano token. Bitfinex is the technology provider for the token. Bukele needs to raise fresh capital in order to stave off a default of his 2023 and 2025 bond obligations.
Colombian bank Bancolombia’s crypto exchange partner Gemini was sued by the US Securities & Exchange Commission this week. Gemini and Bancolombia are one of the pairs in Colombia’s crypto regulatory sandbox. Members of the crypto regulatory sandbox are piloting small volumes of fiat-to-crypto transactions ahead of what banks hope will be a set of robust guidelines from the Colombian securities regulator.
Peru has at least 29 blockchain firms registered in its Fintech ecosystem. The study was commissioned by a Peruvian blockchain association. Peru’s presidency is going through a significant bout of unrest ever since former president Pedro Castillo was arrested for attempting to dissolve congress. Dina Boluarte, Castillo’s vice president, took charge of the executive office on 7 December 2022.
Brazil’s Central Bank Chief Roberto Campos Neto was found to be party to a private chat where Bolsonaro’s Ministers communicated. That means the Central Banker could become ensnared in a series of investigations related to an attempted coup on 8 January 2023 in Brazil’s capital. Campos Neto is running the country’s CBDC policy and is understood to be a Bitcoin advocate.
Argentina’s pro-Bitcoin presidential candidate Javier Milei is improving his image in recent polls. Ahead of October 2023 elections, Milei polled better than former president Mauricio Macri and Alberto Fernandez’ finance minister Sergio Massa. He is running on an aggressive economic reform platform.
Argentina’s Globant is looking for a blockchain consultant. Globant is a Buenos Aires-headquartered software development firm with offices and clients across Latin America and Europe.
Illicit Finance & Crime Update: There was a sea change in illicit finance through crypto addresses in 2022 compared to previous years, according to a Chainalysis report. Sanctioned addresses were a big part of the game because of illicit fund flows through Garantex, a Russia-based platform that operated with impunity post-Russia-Ukraine.
Barracuda Briefing is a weekly analysis of critical policy & power shaping Bitcoin and blockchain in Latin America. It goes out to subscribers for free every Friday.