LATAM News (English)

These are English-language news items related to Bitcoin and LATAM (Latin America):

Puerto Rico wants to combat corruption with blockchain technology

Published on december 9, 2021

A mayor in Puerto Rico pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe of more than $100,000 in cash last week.

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Brazilian FinTech Dock Acquires Mexican Card Processor Cacao

Published on december 8, 2021

Brazilian FinTech infrastructure firm Dock has closed an acquisition deal for the Mexican card processing startup Cacao for undisclosed terms, according to a recent press release. Cacao is Dock’s first purchase outside of Brazil and its third acquisition overall. The deal widens Dock’s regional reach and drives its mission of positioning itself as the central […]

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Blame the Bitcoin Bond? El Salvador’s Dollar-Denominated Debt Slides

Published on december 7, 2021

Bitcoin bonds are a contributing factor to the slide in El Salvador’s dollar-denominated debt, but not the only one.

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Study: Local Payment Preferences a Critical Consideration in Latin America’s eCommerce Spend

Published on december 6, 2021

Latin America is proving to a significant greenfield opportunity for digital payments. In the Digitizing Payments In Latin America Playbook, a PYMNTS and Kushki collaboration, double-digit growth rates are in place throughout the region, forecast to last through the next several years. There are an estimated 267 million online consumers in the region, being served […]

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Colombia’s Biggest Bank To Offer Bitcoin Trading

Published on december 6, 2021

Bancolombia will soon offer its customers the ability to buy and sell bitcoin through a partnership with Gemini.

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Gemini to Allow Crypto Trading in Colombia Under Government-Sponsored Pilot Program

Published on december 6, 2021

The company plans to offer bitcoin, ether, litecoin and bitcoin cash trading in partnership with local bank Bancolombia starting in December.

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Clara Becomes Latin America’s Fastest Unicorn

Published on december 6, 2021

The Mexico City-based spend management platform Clara announced its launch in Brazil Monday (Dec. 6), an occasion marked by $70 million in new funding and a $1 billion valuation. As the company noted in its press release, that valuation comes just eight months after Clara’s launch, making it the fastest startup to reach unicorn status […]

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Salvadoran Ecologist Claims Nayib Bukele’s Volcano-Powered Bitcoin Mine Will ‘End in Environmental Disaster’

Published on december 6, 2021

El Salvador’s leading ecologist Ricardo Navarro believes that mining bitcoin with a volcano, or geothermal energy, will “end in environmental disaster.” Navarro believes geothermal energy costs more than oil, and thinks El Salvador’s millennial president Nayib Bukele’s decision is questionable. Salvadoran ecologist Ricardo Navarro Questions His Country’s Volcano-Powered Bitcoin City Venture During the second week […]

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El Salvador’s President Tells Peter Schiff Benefit of Switching Gold Reserves to Bitcoin

Published on december 5, 2021

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has revealed that his country holds 44,106 oz. of gold in its reserves that has lost some value over the past year. He told gold bug Peter Schiff that if El Salvador had sold its gold and bought bitcoin last year, it would now be worth $125 million […]

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Crypto Flash Crash Prompts El Salvador to Buy the Dip — 150 Bitcoins Added to Treasury

Published on december 4, 2021

As the crypto market shed billions of dollars, El Salvador bought the dip, taking advantage of the falling price of bitcoin early Saturday morning. With the latest buy, El Salvador has purchased a total of 1,370 bitcoins altogether. According to Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, the coins were bought seven minutes before the price of the […]

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