Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: Argentine authorities crack down on illegal crypto investment scam, Bancolombia launches cryptocurrency exchange Wenia, and Genesis Digital Assets announces flare gas-powered bitcoin mining site in Argentina. Argentine Authorities Crack Down on .25 Million […]
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Crackdown on Crypto Investment Scam Leads to Massive Raids in Argentina: $100 Million Operation Uncovered
The detainment of two Chinese and one Argentine national involved in a .25 million crypto investment scam led to the discovery of a 0 million operation in Argentina. According to local reports, the investigation resulted in the raid of a supermarket that was used as a facade for conducting illegal cryptocurrency mining operations, with dozens […]
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Genesis Digital Assets to Launch Flare Gas Powered Bitcoin Mining Site in Argentina
Genesis Digital Assets, a leading digital miner, has partnered with YPF Luz, an Argentine power company, to receive power from a flare gas installation to operate a bitcoin mining site in Argentina. The data center facility, in the Bajo del Toro thermoelectric plant, will host 1,200 bitcoin miners. Genesis Digital Assets to Operate Flare Gas […]
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Elon Musk Meets President Milei, Reccomends to Invest in Argentina
Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla and Spacex, called to invest in Argentina after meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei. Musk and Milei met for the second time in less than a month after Milei participated in the Milken Institute Forum, an event that gathers important entrepreneurs, bankers, CEOs, and investment funds. […]
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Worldcoin Faces $1.2 Million Fine In Argentina For Law Violations; WLD’s Price Reacts
In recent months, Sam Altman’s open-source protocol Worldcoin (WLD) has faced increasing legal challenges as Portugal and Spain cracked down on its biometric data collection practices. Argentina has joined the list, issuing an indictment against Worldcoin after detecting allegedly abusive clauses in user contracts.
Worldcoin Faces Legal Scrutiny In Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires authorities have identified discrepancies between Worldcoin’s reported data handling practices and findings from provincial inspections, raising concerns about the storage and deletion of biometric data and potential infringements on user rights.
The Ministry of Production, Science, and Technological Innovation of the province of Buenos Aires ordered the indictment of Worldcoin following an investigation by the Provincial Directorate for the Defense of Consumer Rights.
The investigation revealed the inclusion of “abusive clauses” in the company’s accession contracts, which were allegedly in violation of the National Consumer Protection Law.
Undersecretary Ariel Aguilar, responsible for Commercial Development and Promotion of Investments in the province, expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding Worldcoin’s data processing procedures.
Aguilar questioned whether biometric data was being stored or immediately deleted, the existence of databases storing personal data of Argentine users, and the complexity of the contracts and operation of the entire system.
The province’s inspections uncovered multiple violations in the adhesion contracts, including the “Terms and Conditions of Use,” “Privacy Notice,” and “Data Consent Form.”
Notably, the company failed to display signs indicating the minimum age requirement of 18 for accessing the service, potentially leading to the scanning of the personal data of minors.
Contradictions In Worldcoin’s Handling Of Biometric Data
Contradictions were also found between the company’s reported use, protection, and storage of biometric data collected from the faces and eyes of Argentine users. It appears that this private information is being stored in Brazil.
Additionally, abusive clauses were identified that allowed the company to interrupt the service without providing any repair or refund.
The contracts also allegedly forced users to waive collective redress claims and subjected them to foreign laws, specifically those of the Cayman Islands, with disputes to be resolved by arbitration in California, United States, violating Argentina’s Civil and Commercial Code. Worldcoin now faces potential fines of up to 1 billion pesos or .2 million.
The company had been operating in various cities in Buenos Aires. Worldcoin collected personal biometric data, such as iris and facial scans, in these locations through its Orb technology device.
In exchange, users were offered the World App financial application on their phones and received cryptocurrency from Worldcoin’s native token, WLD.
Unexpected Upswing
Despite facing increasing legal scrutiny in recent months, including the latest development in Argentina, the token associated with the Worldcoin protocol, WLD, has experienced an unexpected surge of 2.6% within the past 24 hours, currently trading at .80.
However, when examining key metrics, it becomes evident that the overall market correction has impacted WLD. CoinGecko data reveals that WLD’s trading volume in the last 24 hours amounts to 9,113,250, indicating a decrease of 7.10% compared to the previous day.
Additionally, WLD has witnessed a significant decline of over 58% from its all-time high of .74, reached on March 10.
Moreover, the token’s market capitalization has experienced a notable decrease. Since its peak of .4 billion recorded on March 17, the market cap has fallen below the billion-dollar level, currently standing at 0 million as of the time of writing.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Latam Insights: Chile to Keep Advancing CBDC Tests, Argentina Debuts VASP Registry
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: the Central Bank of Chile will keep experimenting with CBDC, Argentina’s VASPs will have to register to provide services in the country, and Argentines are warming up to bitcoin as an investment instrument. […]
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Latam Insights: Argentina Arrests $400 Million Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme Founders, Brazil Defines Crypto Regulation as a Priority
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: 0 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme founders were arrested in Argentina, the Central Bank of Brazil established cryptocurrency regulation as a priority, and the Argentine Fintech Chamber proposed crypto tax exemptions in Argentina. 0 […]
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Founders of $400 Million Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme Arrested in Argentina
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Lemon Report: Argentina Leads Crypto Adoption in Latam; Tether Dominates Stablecoin Sector
Argentina is leading the adoption of cryptocurrency in Latin America. According to a report titled “Argentina Crypto Capital,” produced by Lemon, a leading exchange in the country, four of every ten cryptocurrency apps in Latam are being used by Argentines, with over 70% of the deposits processed by the exchange corresponding to USDT, Tether’s dollar-pegged […]
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Latam Insights: Argentina to Regulate Crypto via Decree, Bitget Eyes Latam Expansion
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: The government of Argentina seeks to regulate the crypto industry with an executive order, Bitget announces expansion in Latam, and Honduras reiterates its private bank crypto ban. Argentina to Issue Crypto Exchange Regulation […]
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