Worldcoin, the iris-scanning biometric proof-of-personhood project, announced on Thursday the launch of its operations in Colombia. Via social media, the project reported that eye-scanning operations were already available in Bogota and Medellin, for World ID users. Currently, only ten locations with orbs (iris scanning machines) are available, six in Bogota and four in Medellin. Nonetheless, […]
Bitcoin News
Latam Insights: Argentina Prepares for Run-off Election With Crypto on the Agenda, Colombia Works on Digital Peso
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: Argentina prepares for a run-off election with crypto on the agenda, Colombia works to formulate a digital peso, and Prosegur will build a crypto-secure bunker in Brazil.
Argentina Will Face a Run-off Election With Crypto on the Agenda
The first round of the presidential election in Argentina determined that Javier Milei, the libertarian candidate, and Sergio Massa, the current economy minister, will be facing a run-off election that has a crypto element to it.
While Milei has repeatedly proposed the elimination of the Central Bank of Argentina and the adoption of the dollar as legal tender in the country as the main points of his hypothetical administration, Massa recently discussed the creation of a national digital currency, which would be used by his administration to reduce tax costs and curbing tax evasion by bringing more of the Argentine economy to formality.
Massa, who led the first round in the election, also added another element to consider: the possibility of using gas from Vaca Muerta, one of the most significant Argentine crude oil deposits, to mine bitcoin.
At a meeting with Argentine cryptocurrency enthusiast Santiago Siri, Massa stated:
I like the Vaca Muerta proposal because it results in the reduction of carbon emissions. It has all the symbolic capital that Argentina needs in the coming years.
Colombia Advances to Create a Digital Peso
Ricardo Bonilla, economy minister of Colombia, recently revealed that the country was still working on creating a national central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital peso. During a forum that examined the future of banking, Bonilla called Colombians to forget about cash, also charging against cryptocurrencies, stressing these were not “the best means for clear and transparent transactions.”
Bonilla clarified that the construction of the digital peso was being examined by the Central Bank of Colombia, the Superfinanciera (the national stock and financial regulator), the economy ministry, and the Congress. He added that the central bank would be the issuer of any CBDC.
Prosegur Will Build a Secure Crypto Bunker in Brazil
Prosegur, a Spain-based insurance and security company, announced that it will build a secure facility for cryptocurrency in Brazil. The so-called “bunker,” to be built in Sao Paolo, will include several security measures to avoid attacks, including 24/7 monitoring by redundant vigilance centers and a fog machine capable of filling the bunker in 30 seconds, leaving attackers trapped.
Jose Angel Fernandez Freire, Prosegur’s executive president, said that clear regulations helped the company build this facility in Brazil as an entrance door to provide these services to entities in other countries like Chile.
To follow all the latest developments in crypto and the economy in Latin America, sign up for our Latam newsletter below.
What do you think about this week’s Latam Insights report? Tell us in the comment section below.
Binance Launches Prepaid Card in Colombia
Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, has launched a prepaid cryptocurrency card in Colombia, expanding its reach in Latam. The card, which will allow customers with their identity verified to make payments with crypto, establishes the country as one of the leading markets for the exchange in Latam behind Brazil and Argentina.
Binance Announces Crypto Prepaid Card in Partnership With Movii
Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in volumes traded, is making moves to expand its services in Colombia. The company announced the launch of a new prepaid cryptocurrency-linked card, that will allow users to pay with crypto in all merchants accepting standard debit and credit cards.
The product is part of a partnership with Movii, a Colombian neobank that also issues its own Mastercard card. Among the currencies supported by the card will be BNB, BTC, ETH, ADA, DOT, SOL, SHIB, XRP, MATIC, LINK, and other stablecoins, with the user being able to configure which currency will be spent.
The card will feature real-time exchange from crypto to fiat currency, allowing users to spend crypto, and merchants to receive fiat instantly. Binance also announced that the prepaid card will feature zero-fee withdrawals in ATMs, offering up to 8% in cashback rewards in selected purchases.
While it is still in the beta stages, Binance announced it will be launched to a wider audience soon.
Colombia: Another Expansion Spot in Latam
Binance thinks Colombia is one of the countries where crypto will have the biggest adoption in the future, and believes it can support this growth with the launch of this kind of service. Daniel Acosta, general manager of Binance Colombia, stated:
Colombia is a very relevant market for Binance. We believe that offering a Binance card will foster an even broader adoption of cryptocurrencies among Colombians, which will contribute to the development of the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in the country.
Colombia is the third country that sees the release of a card product from Binance in Latam. Argentina saw the release of a similar card in August, being the first market in which Binance entered with this product. The exchange released another prepaid card product in Brazil in February, putting a special significance on the usage of the product to streamline payments, and how crypto can be more useful in this field.
What do you think about the release of the Binance prepaid card launched in Colombia? Tell us in the comment section below.