Chile

Bitfinex announced a new investment in the Chile-based crypto exchange in an effort to boost crypto adoption in Latin America.

The digital asset platform Bitfinex announced a new partnership with a local exchange in Latin America, as a part of a larger effort to push for wider adoption in the region. 

On May 24, Bitfinex revealed a new investment in one of Chile’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges OrionX. According to the announcement, the partnership between the two digital asset companies aims to support local education programs, along with financial freedom and inclusion efforts. 

This comes just over a month after Bitfinex Securities El Salvador was granted an operating license in El Salvador by the National Digital Asset Commission to issue and trade secondary assets via a platform compliant with local regulations.

The exchange also recently sponsored a three-week boot camp in Paraguay for women to learn basic coding skills.

Latin America has been a growing market in the crypto scene over the last year, and continues to attract attention from outside investors.

According to the Chainalysis Global Adoption Index for 2022, Latin America constituted 9.1% of the global crypto value received in 2022. The region came in 7th for the largest cryptocurrency market.

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The same Chainalysis report also highlighted that Latin America is home to five of the top thirty countries in the index which includes Brazil (7), Argentina (13), Colombia (15), Ecuador (18), and Mexico (28).

Back in March, Coinbase announced service expansion in Brazil via partnerships with local services, including round-the-clock customer support in Portuguese and easier onboarding processes.

Last month in Argentina, the local securities regulator approved a Bitcoin futures index, which is reportedly a first in Latin America. 

Also in Argentina, a new partnership on May 19 between the stablecoin issuer Tether and on- and off-ramp platform KriptonMarket will allow support for USDT transactions at Argentina’s Central Market.

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