Latin America’s largest digital bank will allocate 1% to BTC, offer crypto investment services

May 11, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Brazil

In addition to buying Bitcoin, Nubank will offer BTC and ETH investment services to its more than 50 million customers.

Nubank, the largest digital bank in Brazil and Latin America, announced that it has partnered with Paxos to allow the bank's customers to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies directly through Nubank.

Along with the launch of the new cryptocurrency transaction services, Nubank announced it will allocate roughly 1% of its net assets to Bitcoin (BTC) through the cashier of Nu Holdings, a company that controls the Nubank Group.

“This move reinforces the company’s conviction in Bitcoin’s current and future potential in disrupting financial services in the region,” Nubank said, as translated by Cointelegraph.

According to a statement from Nubank sent to Cointelegraph, the purchase of Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) can be made from $ 0.20 (or 1 BRL) and will be made available in May. The crypto investment service will be fully implemented by the end of June.

"There is no doubt that cryptocurrencies are a growing trend in Latin America,” explained Nubank founder and CEO David Velez. “We have been following the market closely and we believe that there is transformational potential in the region.”

Nubank also informed that the integration with cryptocurrencies aims to expand and improve access to this growing market, eliminating complexity and friction for customers to buy, hold and sell digital currencies through the app without the need to open new accounts or transfer cash.

The company confirmed plans to expand beyond just BTC and ETH offerings in the future but didn’t elaborate on which assets will be included.

Through a set of APIs, Paxos will enable Nubank to offer crypto-enabled services to customers, as Mercado Livre and PayPal also do in partnership with Paxos.

Nubank is said to have more than 50 million customers in Brazil alone. According to Paxos, its partnership with the digital bank represents an important strategic move as Latin America continues to grow into a crypto hub.

Brazil firmly bets on digital money!

The country is the latest to announce CBDC adoption. The sovereign national digital currency will be based on the national fiat and would have a fixed supply quite similar to Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/nWu0RAfJyB
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) April 13, 2022

Nubank and Bitcoin

Although this is the first time that Nubank offer customers the ability to purchase BTC and ETH outright, the bank is not new to digital assets. Through Nulinvest, a platform that Nubank acquired in 2020 when it was called Easynvest, the bank already allows customers to purchase investment funds with exposure to the digital asset market.

With the acquisition, Nubank also started to offer QBTC11, an exchange-traded fund that's 100% allocated to Bitcoin, managed by QR Asset Management and belonging to the QR Capital group.

Meanwhile, a securities filing earlier this year revealed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had purchased $1 billion in Nubank shares in the fourth quarter of 2021. The move is said to have given the Oracle of Omaha indirect exposure to the digital asset market.

Indonesia and Brazil are leading the world in terms of the share of cryptocurrency investors among the general population, according to a new report by Gemini. https://t.co/eBympWuxt4
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) April 4, 2022

Nubank isn’t the only local financial institution looking to offer crypto investment services. Another Brazilian bank that will also offer Bitcoin investment services to its customers is BTG Practual. The bank’s president, Roberto Sallouti, recently announced that the bank will launch its own crypto exchange in roughly two months.

"We will have our cryptocurrency trading platform in up to two months [..] BTG's proposal is to have a complete investment platform for our clients," he revealed.

Argentina’s central bank steps in to block new crypto offerings from banks

May 6, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Argentina

Only four days have passed since two of Argentina’s biggest banks opened up to crypto trading but now the central bank has stepped in to block the offerings.

The central bank of Argentina (BCRA) has put the kibosh on financial institutions offering crypto trading only days after two of the country's largest banks signaled they were opening up to digital assets.

On May 5 the BCRA said the move was to mitigate the risks crypto poses to users and “to the financial system as a whole” citing crypto’s high volatility, use in money laundering and absence of regulatory safeguards.

The news came hot on the heels of an announcement on Monday from two of the countries largest banks, Banco Galicia and Brubank, that they would allow their customers to purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USD Coin (USDC) and Ripple (XRP).

The decision to open crypto trading was decided by a poll conducted by Banco Galicia where 60% of respondents said they wanted easier access to digital currencies.

The central bank has long taken a dim view of crypto, issuing an alert to the public in May last year on the risks, warning once again of concerns around volatility and money laundering despite the bank saying there were not yet signs of “significant levels of acceptance and use.”

According to figures from data analysis form Statista, 21% of respondents in Argentina had owned or used crypto in 2021 marking the sixth-highest rate of adoption in the world and the highest rate in the Americas.

Argentina’s inflation rose another 6.7% in March — the highest rate in 20 years — to hit 55.1% year-over-year according to INDEC, the countries' statistics agency. Some Argentinians have turned to crypto in an attempt to hedge spiking inflation. In April one rural town began the process of mining cryptocurrency to fight inflation.

The change in emphasis from last May could be relate to a $44 billion extended debt plan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a clause of which was for Argentina to “discourage the use of cryptocurrencies”.

The announcement from the central bank is at odds with plans from the Mayor of Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires. In late April Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta announced plans to digitize the city with intentions to allow the option for citizens to pay their taxes in cryptocurrencies amongst other blockchain plans.

Cuban central bank makes it official: VASP licensing coming in May

April 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin regulation

The Gazette further determines that this decision will enter into force 20 days after its publication, which is May 16.

In a move that could potentially foster the growth of Cuba's nascent tech industry, the Banco Central de Cuba (BCC), the country's central bank, will begin issuing licenses for Bitcoin (BTC) and other virtual asset services providers (VASPs).

According to the Official Gazette, No. 43 published Tuesday, which includes a Central Bank of Cuba resolution, anyone wanting to provide virtual-asset-related services must acquire a license first from the central bank. It reads:

"The Central Bank of Cuba, when considering the license request, evaluates the legality, opportunity and socioeconomic interest of the initiative, the characteristics of the project, the responsibility of the applicants and their experience in the activity."

Furthermore, the document states that those organizations that do not operate under this license and are required to do so must face penalties in line with existing banking and financial rules in the island nation. The Gazette further determines that this decision will enter into force 20 days after its publication, which will be May 16. It also noted that the licenses would be extended for a second year.

“Virtual asset service provider licenses are approved for a one-year period, extendable for a second year, given the experimental and novel nature of this type of activity.”

It also emphasizes among the bank's terms that VASPs are not permitted to cease their services without authorization from the central bank.

I would escape with my family from the dictatorship that is my country "Cuba" and invest in my private business.#BTC #SOSCuba
— El Espejuelo (@ElGlasses) April 27, 2022

As reported by Cointelegraph in Sep. last year, the BCC issued a ruling that defined cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as a legal payment method. Although the institution had reservations about the dangers of utilizing cryptocurrencies, the central bank was made the only entity permitted to grant licenses to VASPs.

By legalizing virtual assets, Cubans can now enjoy more accessible remittance services and the ability to send and receive funds freely around the world, which could potentially trigger new cultural waves in local tech development amid 60 years of United States sanctions. Under mounting pressure from Washington, global money transfer firms have largely departed the country.

Buenos Aires to Allow Residents to Make Tax Payments With #Bitcoin #Bitcoin is the only HOPE for developing countries like; #Haïti, #ElSalvador, #Venezuela, #cuba, #Nigeria, #Kenya to escape economic oppression. If you agree, consider follow my page and retweeting this. #BTC pic.twitter.com/04FME0g1aM
— ₿itcoin Xoe (@Bitcoin_Xoe) April 26, 2022

Indeed, the country is following a similar path to El Salvador and the Central African Republic in embracing Bitcoin amid escalating U.S. sanctions and the economic impact of COVID-19. With virtual currencies linked to the prospect of financial sovereignty for many Cubans, interest in Cuba has been growing over the last couple of years.

Survey: Adoption in Argentina Grows, With 12 out of 100 Adults Having Invested in Crypto

April 19, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Tribal partners with Visa to expand credit options for businesses

February 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The initiative is focused on expanding credit and financing options for small- and medium-sized businesses in Latin America.

Crypto-focused enterprise payment platform Tribal Credit has partnered with Visa to expand credit and financing options for small- and medium-sized enterprises across Latin America, highlighting the growing synergies between traditional payment providers and the blockchain industry.

The partnership with Visa allows Tribal to issue business credit cards in local denominations and currencies across Latin America, including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Panama, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic. A Tribal spokesperson informed Cointelegraph that the company’s initial focus is on providing this credit facility to the countries of Colombia, Peru and Chile.

While the Visa partnership is centered around providing small businesses with traditional financing solutions, Tribal’s technology also allows enterprises to utilize cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to accept payments and transfer funds. In December 2021, Tribal partnered with Latin American crypto exchange Bitso and the Stellar Development Foundation to create a new enterprise cross-border payment service that utilizes Stellar’s USD stablecoin.

Tribal highlighted El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law and the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in Latin America as reasons to continue developing blockchain-based payment solutions.

https://t.co/rzNJRigp5u https://t.co/rzNJRigp5u
— Indira Kempis de I. (@IndiraKempis) February 22, 2022

Visa, too, has broadened its outlook on cryptocurrencies and has even developed a blockchain interoperability project for digital payments. The project, dubbed “Universal Payment Channel,” is researching blockchain interoperability with the aim of streamlining digital asset transfers across chains. In December 2021, the credit card giant announced a new crypto consulting service aimed at helping merchants and banks integrate digital assets into their business models.

Interestingly, Visa has also dabbled in the nonfungible token market after purchasing a CryptoPunk for $150,000 in August 2021. The same month, Visa published a white paper touting NFTs as a "promising medium for fan engagement."

Cointelegraph’s Brazilian version unveils top 10 people in crypto and blockchain

February 23, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Brazil

Talent in the Brazilian cryptocurrency and blockchain space is in no short supply.

In 2021, the Brazilian cryptocurrency market gained more investors, reached the Brazilian stock exchange and “punctured the bubble” of the mainstream, becoming an important part of the investment portfolio of ordinary Brazilians.

In addition to strengthening the crypto community in Brazil, the initiatives of Brazilian blockchain companies have taken cryptocurrencies to the most varied segments of society, from football — a great national passion — to civil aviation. Cointelegraph Brasil chose the 10 most prominent figures in the country in 2021, taking into account the performance of the companies represented, their impact on the crypto community and their pioneering spirit in the market.

The above are just 10 important individuals in a massive ecosystem that spans around the globe. To see more luminaries who are lighting up the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries, check out the Cointelegraph Top 100 for 2022.

10. Luis Adaime — MOSS

Luis Adaime is CEO and founder of MOSS, a Brazilian company dedicated to the tokenization of carbon credits through the MCO2 token. Founded in 2020, MOSS formed a series of partnerships in Brazil: Its logo appeared on the Clube de Regatas Flamengo shirt during the 2021 season of Brazilian football. Other relevant carbon offset partnerships involved large companies such as iFood, Hering and GOL Linhas Aéreas. MOSS also launched nonfungible tokens (NFTs) aimed at preserving the Amazon forest. The collection linked to MCO2 is aimed at sustainability projects in Brazil.

9. Edilson Osório — OriginalMy

A graduate of Harvard Law School, computer scientist, professor and information security specialist, Edílson Osório was a blockchain and Big Data consultant at ITS-Rio and is a member of the European Observatory for Blockchain. He is the CEO and founder of OriginalMy, a legaltech firm with a blockchain-based platform to increase trust in governance by authenticating identities, signatures, authorizations and content.

8. Thiago César — Transfero Swiss

Thiago César is CEO of Transfero Swiss, the issuer of the largest stablecoin backed by the Brazilian real, the BRZ. In 2021 alone, the stablecoin recorded a trading volume of $1.5 billion, the highest since the coin’s launch in 2019. BRZ reached major global exchanges and stood out for its multichain technology featuring compatibility with Ethereum, Solana, Stellar and other networks. Transfero Swiss is also expected to launch cryptocurrency solutions for retail in the country with a BRZ trading platform against a variety of cryptocurrencies.

7. Fernando Carvalho — QR Capital

Fernando Carvalho is CEO of QR Capital, controlling holding of the manager QR Asset, one of the pioneers in crypto-asset investment funds in Brazil. QR Capital launched the country’s first DeFi-linked exchange-traded fund on the Brazilian stock exchange, consisting of nine cryptocurrencies on Bloomberg’s Galaxy DeFi Index. Previously, QR Capital had already launched ETFs with exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), ranking among the highest-profit investments during 2021 on the Brazilian stock exchange B3.

6. Primo Rico — Rico

Brazilian businessman and popular YouTuber Thiago Nigro — known by the pseudonym “Primo Rico” — has become a noted cryptocurrency proponent, with educational videos on his YouTube channel and 5.5 million subscribers. His proximity to the crypto market was also in the news in 2021 when he revealed that he was a partner at Brazilian exchange Biscoint through Rico Investimentos. Another initiative by Nigro launched in 2021, digital bank Rico, offers exposure to cryptocurrencies through two investment funds.

5. Fernando Ulrich — Liberta Investimentos

With worldwide experience in the Brazilian financial and real estate markets, Fernando Ulrich is a student of monetary theory and a digital currencies enthusiast. Ulrich has worked for several globally known companies such as Thyssenkrupp and XP Investimentos, having held the position of chief analyst at the cryptocurrency exchange XDEX. He is currently at Liberta Investimentos, which is an investment advisory firm associated with XP. Ulrich was the first prominent Brazilian economist to publicly validate Bitcoin and frequently speaks publicly about Bitcoin and various cryptocurrencies on his YouTube channel and on Twitter.

4. Roberto Campos Neto — Banco Central do Brasil

President of the Central Bank of Brazil, Roberto Campos Neto, launched an agenda of digital innovation with his management of Pix, the financial authority’s quick transaction system that quickly gained popularity among the Brazilian population. Campos Neto also leads the country’s central bank digital currency project, the Real Digital, which is still in the analysis phase, but could start its first trials as early as 2023.

DISCOVER COINTELEGRAPH’S TOP 100 IN CRYPTO AND BLOCKCHAIN 2022

3. Daniel Coquieri — Liqi

Daniel Coquieri, the founder of the Brazilian exchange BitcoinTrade, founded Liqi in 2021, an asset tokenization company that quickly gained prominence in the Brazilian market.

Liqi, which was created after the sale of Bitcoin Trade to Ripio, later became a partner of football club Cruzeiro and has already earned more than $200,000 for holders of the Cruzeiro token (CRZ). This is linked to FIFA’s solidarity mechanism that rewards clubs that train athletes in cases of international transactions. Liqi has also launched other crypto products on the market with good acceptance among investors.

2. Marcelo Sampaio — Hashdex

Marcelo Sampaio is co-founder and CEO of Hashdex, the largest crypto asset manager in the Brazilian financial market. In 2021, the company launched Bitcoin and crypto ETFs on the Brazilian Stock Market. Hashdex also launched a DeFi ETF, expanding the exposure of the Brazilian financial market to cryptocurrencies.

1. Reinaldo Rabelo — Mercado Bitcoin

Reinaldo Rebelo is the CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Brazil, Mercado Bitcoin, valued today at $2.1 billion. Over the past few years, the exchange has expanded the exposure of the Brazilian financial market to cryptocurrencies, widened operations and reached the mainstream. The exchange has run advertising campaigns on large vehicles, sponsored football teams and launched fan tokens of Brazilian football giants on its platform, in addition to innovating with judiciary bond tokens and other crypto products.

NFTs, payments and conferences: Crypto in Latin America in 2021

February 20, 2022 Coin Telegraph

caribbean

Between the bull market, the NFT craze and DeFi taking off, 2021 was an interesting year for Latin America.

In 2021, Latin America saw a soaring rise in crypto adoption among the 20 countries and 14 dependencies that make up the region.

A slew of conferences, associations, new regulations and nonfungible token (NFT) projects as well as the global bull market made last year an intriguing one for the region.

Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting developments in the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem in Latin America in 2021.

Colombian financial firms partner with crypto exchanges

Early in 2021, the Financial Superintendence of Colombia authorized several partnerships between banking institutions licensed in the nation’s financial system and cryptocurrency exchanges.

The nine partnerships included major names from the cryptocurrency industry such as Binance and Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’ Gemini.

The regulator said that these approvals were made within a regulatory sandbox for testing technological solutions in the world financial market and will have a trial period of up to one year.

Crypto recognition in Latin America

In 2021, the rapid growth of digital currencies led some Latin American countries to officially recognize their use as a payment instrument, despite their reputation for volatility. El Salvador’s official recognition of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender — a world-first — made waves not only in Latin America but across the world.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin Law was approved by a majority vote in the country’s representative body, the Legislative Assembly, and came into effect in September.

In August 2021, Cointelegraph reported that the Central Bank of Cuba was expected to recognize cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Tether (USDT) for commercial transactions and investments.

The president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, Julio Velarde, announced in November that the nation will partner with the central banks of India, Hong Kong and Singapore to develop its own central bank digital currency.

Blockchain events in 2021

As a result of lockdowns and subsequent confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, many blockchain companies and organizations reevaluated their strategies and took to cyberspace to meet up and attend conferences.

Blockchain Summit Latam

The Blockchain Summit Latam conference is considered to be one of the most important crypto events in Latin America, promoting the crypto and blockchain ecosystem in the region. In September 2021, its 5th edition hosted 100 expert speakers from the broader ecosystem.

Over five days, more than 60 virtual spaces hosted seminars and discussions focused on blockchain technology. The topics included infrastructure and applications, the Ibero-American ecosystem, business, decentralized finance, blockchain in the traditional financial system and more.

LaBitConf

In November 2021, the ninth edition of the Spanish-speaking Latin American Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference, also known as LaBitConf, was held. The conference combined face-to-face and virtual meetings, and the agenda featured more than 150 industry experts giving more than 40 presentations on topics such as Bitcoin mining, the future of exchanges in Latin America, regulation, and privacy and security, among others.

Cripto Latin Fest

In December, the fourth edition of Crypto Latin Fest combined online and in-person meetings over two 14-hour days featuring talks and seminars with experts in the cryptocurrency space.

Notable individuals from the crypto ecosystem in Latin America — such as José Rodríguez, director of Blockchain Land at Talent Land, and Elian Huesca, community lead for Latin America at Bitso — covered topics such as blockchain, stablecoins, cybersecurity, legality, DeFi and crypto adoption.

Blockchain Land

The massive Spanish-language Blockchain Land conference — presented by the same company that produced Talent Land Latinoamerica — launched for the first time in 2020 and was broadcast simultaneously in the Decentraland and Cryptovoxels metaverses.

The event, held in April, was one of the largest Spanish-speaking events and was considered to be the most innovative, as it was broadcast simultaneously in two virtual worlds existing on the Ethereum blockchain where the users could interact, speak and network.

NFT boom in Latin America

Last year, nonfungible tokens took off in Latin America and around the globe.

In September, Argentine NFT marketplace SeSocioNFT opened up shop, promoting and selling pieces from Latin American artists. The platform reportedly plans to adapt pieces created by various artists into NFTs so that they can then be sold on the marketplace.

The NFT boom led to the first digital art gallery in Ecuador, NFTs Exhibition UIDE hosted at the International University of Ecuador. The gallery was open from Nov. 24 until Dec. 23 and displayed around 40 works by four Ecuadorian artists and 15 foreigners, valued at $160 million in total.

A collective of Venezuelan artists known as La Tokenia, inaugurated their NFT exhibition on the Tezos network in December.

Meanwhile, in November, the Colombian government signed a mining contract with the National Mining Agency that was registered as NFT on the Ethereum-compatible GoChain blockchain.

P2P payments spurred crypto adoption across Venezuela in 2021

February 12, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin regulation

Venezuelans tried to fight inflation this year by using cryptocurrencies on an unprecedented scale in the country.

For Venezuela, 2021 has been a year of considerable changes at the microeconomic level, where even more than in 2020, the results of powerful catalysts for change such as COVID-19 were clearly visible.

In a more dynamic economy with a higher volume of operations with foreign currencies, cryptocurrencies played a key role during this year for the South American country.

In this review, we’ll take a look at the highlights of the Venezuelan crypto ecosystem in 2021 including related areas such as trading, play-to-earn (P2E) games, fintech, mining, regulation and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

More people accepting cryptocurrencies

According to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, Venezuela ranks seventh in the Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index 2021 thanks in large part to peer-to-peer (P2P) trading activity.

A noticeable trend in 2021 was the growing number of people and businesses in Venezuela accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment to circumvent the hyperinflation and devaluation of the national currency, the bolivar — a trend that has plagued the South American nation for the last few years.

In some of the main cities of the country such as the capital Caracas and Puerto La Cruz, it is increasingly normal to see people or merchants using cryptocurrencies as a form of payment.

The appearance and adoption of crypto payment platforms such as Binance Pay, Reserve or even Valiú have accelerated the adoption of a more digital economy based on cryptocurrencies without the need for users to have extensive knowledge of the subject.

Notable businesses accepting cryptocurrencies in Venezuela include the Simón Bolívar International Airport, supermarket chain Bio Mercados, several casinos and even the largest cable TV operator in the country. Fast food chain Church's Chicken also began paying bonuses to its employees in Dash (DASH).

Support for legal mining

According to a report by the University of Cambridge, Venezuela ranked among the top 10 cryptocurrency-mining countries at the beginning of 2021, making it the first Latin American country to break the top 10.

The country’s high mining ranking was thanks in large part to it having the cheapest electricity prices in Latin America since 2018. This makes the Caribbean country attractive for Bitcoin (BTC) mining and the creation of a regulatory framework that protects and guarantees the legal development of the industry.

Despite some cases of mining equipment being seized, arbitrary disconnections and arrests of illegal miners, the National Superintendence of Cryptoassets (SUNACRIP) has called on miners to operate legally. It is further searching for mechanisms to provide guarantees of legal stability.

By mid-September, an official communiqué from the government ordered law enforcement to refrain from making inspections or carrying out operations related to the supervision, seizure or of any other nature that interrupts cryptocurrency mining.

In mid-November, the country’s fifth official mining meeting took place and SUNACRIP met with more than 150 miners from the region, companies linked to the digital mining sector, crypto personalities from the Venezuelan ecosystem and exchanges like Binance.

Play-to-earn game craze

For the last four months of 2021, 10 of the 50 most visited web pages in Venezuela were related to cryptocurrencies, among which were a notable amount related to popular NFT games like Axie Infinity and Plants vs Undead.

Play-to-earn and NFT games caused a furor in Venezuela among both experienced crypto users and newcomers to the asset class. The games have encouraged crypto adoption, primarily thanks to players’ ability to generate dividends.

For many Venezuelan families, this has turned out to be a type of economic salvation given the low salaries. In fact, Venezuela boasts the second-most active user base by country in Axie Infinity behind the Philippines.

The game was so popular that many businesses began to accept Axie Infinity’s Smooth Love Potion (SLP) token. Binance enabled P2P exchange of SLP in its application, and even a candidate for governor of the ruling party in the recent regional elections promised to deliver Axie Infinity scholarships if he won.

Academic interest in crypto and blockchain

Education is fundamental for adoption in Venezuela, where the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Venezuela, incorporated blockchain, cryptocurrencies and fintech into the curriculum of programs in its schools of business administration and public accounting.

The Universidad Nacional Experimental de las Telecomunicaciones e Informática introduced a master’s degree on blockchain, while Universidad de los Llanos unveiled plans to introduce an undergraduate degree focused on blockchain engineering and cryptocurrencies in 2022.

Blockchain specialist appointed

Civil servant Roman Maniglia, a self-designated specialist in cryptocurrencies and new technologies, was appointed by the government of President Nicolas Maduro at the end of September as president of that country’s largest bank, Banco de Venezuela.

The appointment of an official who describes himself in his Twitter biography as a specialist in finance, cryptocurrencies, fintech and blockchain, demonstrates Venezuela’s interest in combining traditional financial systems with the new generation of technologies like blockchain.

Promotion of Venezuelan NFT art

2021 saw a boom not only in cryptocurrency markets, but the explosion of NFTs across the globe — Venezuela was no exception.

NFTs saw mass adoption in entertainment with several popular video games, as well as use cases in art and music.

SUNACRIP launched an NFT in commemoration of the country’s independence and the bicentennial of the Battle of Carabobo. The long-standing flagship company in the nation’s liquor sector, Ron Carúpano de Venezuela, launched its own collection of NFTs on OpenSea’s decentralized marketplace for charitable purposes. In addition, a community of Venezuelan artists called La Tokenía minted artworks into NFTs and displayed them at special exhibitions.

Crypto-focused enterprise payment platform Tribal Credit raises $60M

February 3, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Crypto-focused enterprise payment platform Tribal Credit raises M

Bitso

Crypto-facilitated cross-border payments services are gaining traction in Latin America — a region that has become a hotbed for the cryptocurrency industry.

Crypto-focused enterprise payment platform Tribal Credit has raised $60 million in an oversubscribed investment round, putting the company on track to continue its expansion in Latin America — a region that has seen significant uptake of blockchain-based cross-border payments.

The Series B investment round was led by SoftBank Latin America Fund, a venture fund that has invested in several fintech and software companies throughout the region. Coinbase Ventures also participated in the round alongside venture firms BECO Capital, QED Investors and Rising Tide.

Tribal said it will use the cash injection to fund its operations across the region, including building local teams in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile.

As Cointelegraph reported in January, Tribal secured $40 million in a “hybrid” debt round that was funded by dollars and stablecoins. Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the non-profit organization supporting the Stellar blockchain, led the effort. Tribal Credit began integrating with Stellar in April 2021.

The company has also partnered with Latin American crypto exchange Bitso to provide cross-border payment and settlement services for small- and medium-sized enterprises. In December 2021, Tribal announced that business owners in Mexico will be able to pay for goods and services in their native peso currency and have their counterparts in the United States receive payments in dollars. The cross-border payment service is being facilitated by Bitso and Stellar.

Latin America has emerged as a major epicenter of crypto adoption and experimentation, with locals and even governments looking to digital assets to combat inflation and promote economic growth. In June 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender. Brazil, the region’s largest economy, has also made significant strides in crypto, with as many as 10 million Brazilians now participating in the market, according to CoinMarketCap.

2021: A year of mass adoption for cryptocurrencies in Brazil

January 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin regulation

2021 was a year of affirmation for the Brazilian crypto market with good news in the national stock market, the promise of a CBDC and Brazilian soccer joining the game.

Throughout 2021, the Brazilian cryptocurrency market managed to distance itself from the police pages and finally win acceptance with the general public, whether in the financial market or even in the greatest national passion: soccer.

Last year, Bitcoin (BTC) acted as a strong alternative to the Brazilian real that ended 2021 by breaking negative records and reaching a devaluation of 6.5% by December, making it the 38th worst currency in the world.

In a year of ups and downs for Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency hit a bottom of 167,000 real in January and soared along with global markets to 355,000 real in May. Faced with Bitcoin’s dip, the BRL/BTC pair was stuck below 200,000 reals until August, when it began to rise to a new historic high of 367,000 real on Nov. 8.

Faced with the need for economic protection, Brazilians turned to crypto. 10 million Brazilians now participate in the crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap.

In traditional financial markets, the Brazilian Stock Exchange debuted exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to Bitcoin and Ether (ETH). There are already five ETFs listed on B3, some of them positioned among the most profitable in the entire Brazilian stock market in 2021.

The Central Bank of Brazil also announced new developments in the digital real, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which could be launched as early as 2023. The Brazilian Central Bank also announced that it will continue working to incorporate blockchain technology into its services by carrying out a series of tests through a dedicated team at the monetary authority.

In the Federal Congress, discussions on the regulation of cryptocurrencies in Brazil dragged on throughout the year, until in December, federal deputies approved Bill 2303/15, which establishes criteria for the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the country. The bill will be further discussed in 2022 in the House’s plenary session and later in the Federal Senate.

There was tension among major players in the cryptocurrency market in Brazil in 2021, but also some good news.

Brazilian exchanges went head-to-head with major crypto exchange Binance. Exchanges around the country worked with the Brazilian Cryptoeconomy Association to comply Binance to follow rules established by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Revenue Service and the central bank. The global exchange is still negotiating with Brazilian market regulators and the country’s financial authorities.

On the other hand, Brazil’s largest exchange, Mercado Bitcoin (MB) — today one of Latin America’s crypto unicorns — expanded its operations in the country, entering the sporting world once and for all. MB also worked alongside Chiliz to make fan tokens more accessible to Brazilian fans, a novelty that was adopted by national football giants such as Corinthians, São Paulo, Internacional, Atlético-MG and Flamengo.

The nonfungible token (NFT) market also reached Brazil with wide adoption and presence of Brazilian players in play-to-earn games, collectible platforms and even in the arts, being adopted by visual artists and renowned names in Brazilian music such as André Abujamra and Zeca Baleiro.

For the next year, we can expect even more major Brazilian and Latin American firms to enter the cryptocurrency market. The Brazilian Stock Exchange hopes to expand its offering of cryptocurrency-linked investments, with experts targeting decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs and the Metaverse.

It’s also worth remembering that 2022 is an election year in a country that has been polarized since 2016, with the Bolsonaro government suffering from low popularity and being defined by social tension. The elections could affect not only the direction of the digital real but also the future of the Brazilian economy, including cryptocurrency markets.

South America

Nubank and Bitcoin

10. Luis Adaime — MOSS

9. Edilson Osório — OriginalMy

8. Thiago César — Transfero Swiss

7. Fernando Carvalho — QR Capital

6. Primo Rico — Rico

5. Fernando Ulrich — Liberta Investimentos

4. Roberto Campos Neto — Banco Central do Brasil

3. Daniel Coquieri — Liqi

2. Marcelo Sampaio — Hashdex

1. Reinaldo Rabelo — Mercado Bitcoin

Colombian financial firms partner with crypto exchanges

Crypto recognition in Latin America

Blockchain events in 2021

Blockchain Summit Latam

LaBitConf

Cripto Latin Fest

Blockchain Land

NFT boom in Latin America

More people accepting cryptocurrencies

Support for legal mining

Play-to-earn game craze

Academic interest in crypto and blockchain

Blockchain specialist appointed

Promotion of Venezuelan NFT art

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