Latin America - Need to Know
The politics of crypto and digital infrastructure in Latin America this week
I hope you are having a great Friday. Thank you again for reading.
In case you missed it, earlier this week I wrote about El Salvador’s security issues and how Bukele’s handling of the situation could impact the country’s Bitcoin policy.
Here are some of the most important updates on crypto and digital infrastructure policy, power and politics this week from Latin America:
A libertarian politician named Javier Milei from Argentina’s congress has declared that he will run for the presidency in 2023. He is a staunch advocate of replacing the inflationary peso with a hard money alternative like the dollar or bitcoin.
Former president of Argentina Mauricio Macri met with Michael Saylor to dicuss Bitcoin. Macri was voted in for a 2015-2019 term to reign in inflation and cure a sick economy. On Twitter, he called the chat, which appears to have been held in Miami, “super interesting.”
Mexico Bitcoin miners are quietly tapping renewable energy sources for juice. Even though there is no formal crypto legislation yet, Ricardo Carmona and Miguel Salazar argue that mining is legal.
Mexican lawmaker Indira Kempis is attempting to broker a meeting between president Andres Manuel Lopez Obredor and Bitcoin investor Samson Mow. The Senator is preparing to introduce legislation in June that would modify Mexico’s existing Fintech law to accommodate Bitcoin as legal tender.
And Mexico has a CBDC skeptic. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the country’s most vocal Bitcoin national champion, is against central bank digital currencies. That means he’s going head-to-head with the wishes of Banxico, Mexicos’ central bank. Mexico’s Banxico intends to issue a CBDC by 2024.
Binance in Colombia has canceled users accounts because of compliance issues. Some users claim that Binance has failed to return a significant quantity of their funds.
Colombia’s finance regulator is warning of scams tied to crypto. José Camilo Torres, the SFC’s sub-director, took the wheel on this announcement. It shows the regulator is accommodating crypto but wants to educate users.
Rappi, a Latin America delivery service, will begin to accept payments in crypto. The company is piloting the payment service in Mexico using Bitso and Bitpay services.