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:
Mexico’s crypto exchanges will see a new competitor with the entrance of Brazilian Mercado Bitcoin. The SoftBank-backed company raised $200 million last year to expand across Latin America.
A trade dispute between the US and Mexico over energy could be material to Bitcoin miners. A tariff war would likely increase the price of electricity for miners.
The United States took El Salvador finance minister Alejandro Zelaya off Washington’s Central America corruption list. An earlier draft had shown that he was on the so-called Engel List. But close legal advisor Javier Argueta stayed on. Both figures are key players in president Bukele’s Bitcoin policy.
Morgan Stanley's EM desk thinks El Salvador's $7.7 billion in eurobonds is being unfairly punished by markets. The 2027 bond should trade around 43.7 cents on the dollar even if the country is heading for a default. It touched 26.3 cents on Friday.
El Salvador’s mayors mired in crisis want to make money in crypto. It seems that Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin policy is driving more adoption amongst fellow politicians who want to emulate him rather than ordinary Salvadorans using Bitcoin for remittance.
Security risk in Venezuela is deterring Bitcoin ATM companies from setting up there. Travis Miller of BitcoinATMs21 says the country is too dangerous for carrying out cash business.
Venezuelan authorities took down a crime group that robbed PDVSA pensioners. The group penetrated the pensioners’ accounts on the state crypto platform Patria and robbed them blind.
Chinese WhatsMiner is operating a repair center in Aragua state, Venezuela. That means it's also been selling mining machinery into Venezuela and means that Aragua is probably where a lot of the Bitcoin mining is taking place.
Colombia’s land bureau partnered with Spanish blockchain firm Peersyst. The software firm will help the Colombian government build a digital, traceable bank of certificates on the Ripple (XRP) blockchain.
Argentina’s Central Bank set restrictions on converting pesos into crypto in order to pay for imports. It is a constraint on exchanges and importers, but it is not a ban. The move comes at a time when the government of Alberto Fernandez is coming under severe pressure to stave off capital flight.
Brazilian bank Itaú Unibanco started a crypto services platform for its customers. Vanessa Fernandes will head the new Digital Assets unit.