Latin American telecom company accepts crypto payments through BitPay

June 15, 2021 Coin Telegraph

GoldConnect will be able to process crypto transactions made in Bitcoin, Ether and other digital assets through its new LatamConnect platform.

GoldConnect, a Latin American telecommunications wholesaler, announced Tuesday that it will allow customers to pay with cryptocurrencies through payment processor BitPay, marking another important milestone in the region’s embrace of Bitcoin (BTC).

Crypto payments can be made directly through LatamConnect, a platform that connects directly with BitPay. Crypto payments made through BitPay are settled in local fiat currency.

GoldConnect said its embrace of crypto payments reflects growing demand for such services across the 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries in which it operates.

"As a disruptive telecom provider in the LATAM region, we must continuously embrace the latest technologies and business methods to improve the interaction and experience of our clients," said Jeremy Villalobos, chief operating officer of GoldConnect.

Shaun Worley, vice president of BitPay, added:

"GoldConnect realizes the potential for crypto to transform the wholesale telecommunication industry, making payments faster, more secure, and less expensive on a global scale.”

Latin America is becoming a hotbed for cryptocurrency activity. Recently, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, setting the stage for mass adoption in the region. Political representatives from several countries, including Brazil and Panama, have also expressed an interest in embracing Bitcoin.

As Cointelegraph reported, Bitso recently became Latin America’s first billion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. It took Bitso six years to bring in 1 million users and another 10 months to register 2 million, highlighting the steep adoption curve during the 2020–2021 bull market.

Traders, analysts offer mixed reactions to El Salvador’s BTC announcement

June 6, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Price

While some made out the announcement from a Lightning Wallet developer to be historic, the market seems to think it's ho-hum.

While it was billed as the “one of the biggest announcements in Bitcoin's history,” the market seems to be puzzling over the landmark reveal that El Salvador’s sitting President will be submitting legislation to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender.

In a presentation at Bitcoin 2021 from Jack Mallers, CEO of Zap — developers of a previously low-profile Lightning Network wallet app named Strike — Mallers showed a short video from Salvadorian president Nayib Bukele where the leader of the 104th largest global economy announced the historic legislation. Strike currently has a 3.2 out of 5 star rating on the Google Play store.

“Next week, I will send to Congress a bill that makes Bitcoin legal money,” Bukele said in the video.

Welcome to the future #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/j30vcZVXvJ
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) June 5, 2021

Bukele, who has been characterized as a strongman and an autocrat, consolidated his power last month by firing five judges as well as the country’s attorney general. A recent Reddit thread from a self-professed Salvadorian framed the move as one that will be popular both with Bukele’s supermajority party, as well as with the general populace.

The move has been long-awaited in Bitcoin circles, with some speculating that nation-states would come to accept, transact in, and hold the world's largest digital asset as part of treasury reserves.

A Tweet thread from Bitcoin advocate Caitlyn Long noted that it may be a “back door” way for banks to handle and custody BTC:

1/ THREAD ABOUT A HISTORIC DAY in #bitcoin: #ElSalvador president publicly announced support for legislation to make #BTC legal tender. *IF* it does become law, it wld have many secondary effects. Steel yourselves bc a big fight on this probably coming thohttps://t.co/BrrNxaLzpZ
— Caitlin Long (@CaitlinLong_) June 6, 2021

While the announcement led to widespread elation at the conference, the market response has been tepid. BTC is effectively flat on a 24 hour basis, and down 3.5% on a 14-day basis.

Part of the muted response may be due in part to the exact nature of the announcement being unclear. A self-described hacker on Twitter noted that Strike is not trustless and is censorable, meaning that this implementation of BTC as legal tender won't be the anarcho-capitalist utopia some hodlers long for.

Tried installing strike, the app that will be used in El Salvador to pay with bitcoin. Looks like it's not permissionless and custodial which means they can block your account and funds any time.https://t.co/9wRD5w8DVo pic.twitter.com/wy6N1nIgp0
— Patrick Aljord (@patcito) June 6, 2021

While it hasn't moved markets, Bukele noted in a recent Tweet that the new policy may be an important boon for many Salvadorians, especially the upwards of 70% of the population that does not have a bank account, regardless of the implementation technicalities:

“Financial inclusion is not only a moral imperative, but also a way to grow the country’s economy, providing access to credit, savings, investment and secure transactions.”

Stellar Development Foundation invests $15M in Mexico crypto exchange

May 25, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Stellar Development Foundation invests M in Mexico crypto exchange

Coin Telegraph

Airtm is aiming to solve a myriad of financial challenges in Latin America tied to last-mile remittance, affordability and equitable access to the global banking system.

Airtm, a Mexico City-based digital wallet and exchange operator, has received $15 million in funding from the Stellar Development Foundation, or SDF, as it seeks to expand financial services and cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America.

The investment, which is the largest SDF has ever made as part of its Enterprise Fund, will enable Airtm to integrate with Stellar in the coming year. As part of the Stellar network, Airtm will be able to better provide its users with access to global financial services.

“Airtm exists because financial systems throughout the developing world are not aligned with their people's needs and global aspirations.” said Airtm CEO Ruben Galindo Steckel, adding:

“With this investment, and our integration with the Stellar network, we will continue to advance on our mission of helping consumers and businesses throughout the developing world access stable money that holds its value, is instant to transfer with no fees, compatible with the global economy, and can be withdrawn as local currency whenever, and wherever it’s needed.”

Stellar Development Foundation is a nonprofit organization that leverages blockchain technology to better streamline global financial services. Its Enterprise Fund has invested in several projects this year alone. This includes a $5 million investment in Wyre and a $750,000 allocation to Nigeria-based payment platform Cowrie.

Latin America appears to be a prime focus for SDF, given the continent’s reliance on cash payments. As SDF noted, 91% of all transactions in Mexico are still made in cash as of 2020.

Digital currency adoption appears to be gaining traction in Mexico, with local exchange Bitso becoming the first billion-dollar crypto platform on the continent.

Bitso reportedly becomes Latin America’s first billion-dollar crypto exchange

May 5, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Argentina

The startup has a total value of $2.2 billion following its latest Series C investment round.

Mexican cryptocurrency exchange Bitso has concluded a $250 million Series C capital raise, putting it in the upper echelons of Latin America’s fintech industry.

The latest investment round gives Bitso a total value of $2.2 billion, making it the first Latin American cryptocurrency exchange to be worth over $1 billion. It’s also the third-most valuable fintech company on the continent.

The raise was led by Tiger Global and Coatue, with additional contributions from Valor Capital Group, BOND and Paradigm.

Daniel Vogel, Bitso’s co-founder and CEO, said it took his exchange six years to get its first million customers and less than ten months to reach 2 million. As Cointelegraph previously reported, Bitso registered its one-millionth user in July 2020.

“People in Latin America are using this technology in their everyday lives,” Vogel said, referring to his cryptocurrency exchange. “We are proud to grow with the industry and continue to make these powerful financial enablers available to everyone.”

He explained that the latest investment round will be used to grow company capabilities as the exchange continues to expand its regional operations:

“Last week we launched operations in Brazil. This round will be used to expand our capabilities, our product offering, and to continue to make cryptocurrencies useful throughout Latin America.”

Launched in 2014, Bitso offers cryptocurrency exchange services settled in Mexican pesos. The platform processes deposits and withdrawals using the Ripple payment gateway and is available in both desktop and mobile versions.

The Series C fundraiser follows a successful Series B raise in December 2020 that brought in $62 million from various investment funds, including Kaszek Ventures and QED Investors. At the time, Vogel said the funds would be used to further expand company capabilities across Latin America.

Argentina was one of Bitso’s first expansion targets in 2019 after the company deployed investment funds obtained from a Ripple-led capital raise. It took the exchange just six months to become Argentina’s most popular Bitcoin trading platform.

Crypto is flourishing in Argentina as locals cope with a crumbling economy, high fiscal pressure and the sharp devaluation of the peso. Capital controls during the pandemic also hastened Bitcoin adoption as more people sought to navigate around a troubled banking system.

South America