Latin America - Ibex \ El Salvador Securities Law \ LemonCash + FTX \ Uruguay \ Haddad
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 to keep you up-to-date:
Chinese blockchain firms are lobbying Panama’s crypto legislation | 23 November
Venezuela - PDVSA’s exposure to Bitcoin mining | 16 November
A Switzerland-to-El Salvador bridge forms for Bitcoin capital | 9 November
Brazilian Gabriel Galipolo’s SUR idea gets a Lula. Will it get a blockchain too? | 2 November
Here is the most critical policy intelligence from this week if you are a Bitcoin, blockchain and/or financial technology professional making important decisions on Latin America.
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and his firm Grupo Carso backed out of a deal to acquire banking assets Banamex after a non-binding offer was rejected by Citi shareholders.
Latin America-focused Lightning Network firm IBEX partnered with Yuno, a payments company with significant operations in Mexico. Yuno was founded by ex-Rappi executives.
El Salvador’s executive branch proposed a Bitcoin securities law to congress. Instead of Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya presenting the law, it came from Minister of Economy Maria Luisa Hayem Brevé on 22 November. The laws are part of an effort to launch a bond backed by geothermal energy and Bitcoin mining assets.
Simultaneously, president Nayib Bukele launched an Office for Bitcoin Investment. Stacy Herbert, Gerson Martinez and Josue Lopez among others will be involved in running the initiative, which seeks to attract capital for Bitcoin-related investments.
El Salvador’s military is starting phase 5, dubbed ‘extraction’, of his campaign against violent gangs. Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on organized crime in El Salvador has come under criticism by some in the international community for alleged human rights violations.
Colombian bank Bancolombia invested in Trii, a Colombian fintech focused on interoperability between stock markets. The Medellín-based bank invested $3 million.
Argentine crypto firm LemonCash invested in FTX. And FTX invested in LemonCash. Marce Cavazzoli slashed nearly 50% of the firm’s workforce after the revelations, but it seems this was pre-planned and not related to the FTX affair.
Bitso Argentina’s new CEO is Julian Colombo. Colombia is Bitso’s ex-Head of Public Policy. Bitso is expanding into Argentina as inflation hits record highs.
Uruguay wants to become a tech hub. To that end, president Luis Lacalle Pou, Marcos Galperin of Mercado Libre and Sergio Fogel of dLocal met with JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon at a forum in Montevideo.
Uruguayan payments firm DLocal’s CEO Sebastian Kanovich spoke out in response to the Muddy Waters short-seller report that called fraud. Kanovich defended the company on the grounds that Carson Block’s revelations are “inexact” or “imprecise.”
Brazilian ex-mayor of Sao Paolo Fernando Haddad is being strongly considered for Finance Minister by newly elected president Lula da Silva. Haddad and Gabriel Galipolo proposed a SURcoin for Latin America and a new central bank. Haddad is set to meet for lunch with Central Bank chief Roberto Campos Neto and Bankers, according to a 24 November report.
Asia in Latin America: Beijing launched a tech stock exchange. Justin Sun’s TRON listed. TRON and Huobi exchange are involved in several Eastern Caribbean jurisdictions and Panamá.
Asia in Latin America: CZ’s Binance started a $1bn Recovery Initiative in the wave of the FTX collapse for buying distressed assets. Binance first calls it a “co-investment opportunity” and then goes on to say “it is not an investment fund.” Some of those distressed assets targeted by Binance could be in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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.