I hope you are having a great Friday. Thanks again for reading Barracuda.
In case you missed it, earlier this week I wrote about how:
Here are the most important updates on bitcoin, blockchain and digital infrastructure policy in Latin America from this week:
In Mexico, Senator Indira Kempis says that legislative discussions on bitcoin will start in September. There are various bills being brought to Mexico’s congress the seek to structure regulations and guidelines for crypto.
Mexico presently has more than 20 ATMs for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Around eleven machines have been installed during the first several months of 2022.
El Salvador's finance minister, Alejandro Zelaya, reiterated that the Central American country has not sold its Bitcoin holdings during the bear market. Bukele’s Bitcoin purchases are valued around $48 million with a cost of $107 million.
In Guatemala, tech giant Meta will shut down its crypto remittance pilot. The Novi wallet, which used Paxo’s Pax Dollar, transmitted remittances from US-based Guatemalans to their family members in Guatemala City.
Guatemala launched its first application to buy Bitcoin called Osmo. The Bitcoin wallet is led by Piero Coen and appears to have support by Swan Bitcoin.
A UN report found that Venezuela has the third highest rate of adoption of crypto in the world. The UN policy brief recommends that nation states in the developing world ban advertising of crypto on social media and restrict financial institutions from exposure to crypto.
Colombia’s securities regulator yesterday issued much-anticipated guidelines for banks and crypto exchanges. The SFC’s Ana María Zuluaga coordinates the agency’s financial innovation unit.
Colombia’s Bancolombia is frustrated by the government-led crypto sandbox’s limitations. There is a separate bill being proposed to congress that could clash with the SFC’s guidelines.
In Brazil, a proposed bill for the regulation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies risks being stalled. It was withdrawn from the agenda of the Chamber of Deputies.
Brazil-based payment platform PicPay announced the launch of Brazil Real Coin (BRC). The crypto firm is one of the largest in Brazil at 65 million users.
Goldman Sachs funded Argentina’s Mercado Pago with a $233 million loan to expand into Mexico and Brazil. Mercado Pago allied with Argentine Ripio for the expansion.
Argentina’s Ripio is building out a side chain on Ethereum. The side chain will serve as a digital wallet for Ripio user.
Argentine Maximiliano Hinz is attempting to pull Binance Card into Latin America. Hinz is Binance’s Director for the region.
Villarrica, Paraguay is becoming a cryptocurrency mining powerhouse. The city is attracting miners from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Switzerland.