Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue, Bolivia passes a law to sell gold for dollars, the Central Bank of Argentina bans fintech companies from using crypto, and Fitch improves El Salvador’s credit rating. Bolivia Passes Law
Central banks have continued to consistently purchase gold during the first quarter of 2023, according to the latest report of the World Gold Council (WGC), the global gold statistics organization. Central banks added nearly 230 tonnes of gold to their national reserves, representing a 176% rise compared to the purchases made in Q1 2022. World
A sudden spike in Bitcoin (BTC) transaction fees and unconfirmed transactions sparked concern on Crypto Twitter over the weekend of a potential Denial of Service (DoS) “attack” on the network. Some Bitcoin analysts and commentators have been quick to allay these fears from their respective followers. Bitcoin average transaction fees are currently $19.20, or 0.00068
The price of new memecoin Pepe (PEPE) has plunged more than 42% only days after reaching its all-time high on May 6, leaving at least one investor with hundreds of thousands in paper losses. According to blockchain analytics service Lookonchain, one crypto “whale” purchased 962.3 billion Pepe tokens using 70 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and 470
Increasing regulatory pressures, tax burden and energy costs in countries like the U.S. and Kazakhstan are likely to result in a new great migration of crypto miners, Russian analysts believe. Under such a scenario, Russia has what it takes to occupy up to 18% of the global bitcoin hashrate, they claim. Russia May Attract Half
Bitcoin (BTC) withdrawals on Binance have again been temporarily shuttered as the crypto exchange claimed it was due to a large backlog of pending withdrawals. Binance tweeted on May 8 that it closed off BTC withdrawals “temporarily” as there was a “large volume of pending transactions.” It added the transactions are still pending as its
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has proposed “landmark” crypto legislation that claims to be “the strongest and most comprehensive set of regulations on cryptocurrency” in the United States. “Rampant fraud and dysfunction have become the hallmarks of cryptocurrency and it is time to bring law and order to the multi-billion-dollar industry,” said Attorney
Crypto-friendly Hong Kong is still gung-ho about giving its citizens access to crypto trading despite other jurisdictions “taking a step back,” claims the chair of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK). Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Hong Kong WOW Summit in March, FTAHK chair Neil Tan said while Singapore and the United States are
As so-called “memecoins” capture the attention of the wider crypto industry in recent weeks, a viral video has emerged detailing just how easy it is for anyone with an internet connection to create a brand new cryptocurrency from scratch. A May 6 video from digital artist Johnny Shankman — who goes by @whitelights.eth on Twitter
The Nigerian payments startup, Nomba, is reported to have raised $30 million via a pre-Series B that was led by Base10 Partners. The new solution is expected to help the startup operate more efficiently and deliver “excellent customer experiences.” Plugging Gaps in Payment Processes Nomba, a Nigerian payments startup, has raised a US$30 million pre-Series
Louisiana Republican senator John Kennedy recently stated in an interview published on Wednesday that the U.S. Federal Reserve may need to increase the federal funds rate to 8-10% to address the country’s inflationary pressures. Kennedy’s remarks come after he criticized the Biden administration in mid-March for bailing out Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, emphasizing
In just under two weeks, the number of unconfirmed transactions on the Bitcoin network has skyrocketed from 134,000 to over 390,000, causing a bottleneck in the mempool. This surge in unconfirmed transactions has resulted in a staggering 343% increase in transaction fees, which have risen from $1.99 per transaction on April 26 to a current
Crypto exchange Binance closed Bitcoin (BTC) withdrawals on May 7 due to an alleged overflow of transactions on the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin mempool was clogged with over 400,000 transactions waiting to be processed at the time of writing. The mempool is known as the “waiting area” for incoming transactions before they are verified independently by
Bitcoin’s (BTC) volatility has shrunk further this week and it is on track to form an inside-bar pattern on the weekly chart. Although the bulls are finding it difficult to clear the overhead hurdle in the $30,000 to $31,000 zone, a positive sign is that they have not ceded ground to the bears. It is
A Wells notice is not a final determination of guilt or wrongdoing, meaning that the recipient has the chance to respond and make a case before any administrative action is initiated. The Wells notice procedure, though, is a clue that the SEC is considering taking action, and how it turns out might have a big
Four days ago, the market capitalization of all the BRC20 tokens built on top of the Bitcoin network was a modest $95 million. However, over the past four days, the BRC20 market valuation has seen tremendous growth, increasing by 192% and reaching $279 million. More Than 13,000 BRC20 Tokens Built on Bitcoin Are Now Worth
Software developer Jason Dreyzehner says smart contracts “comparable to Ethereum,” but remarkably more efficient will be made possible by the May 15 upgrade coming to the Bitcoin Cash network. In other news, the world’s largest regional organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) plans to switch to settlements in national currencies, moving away from the U.S.
A strategist at Swedbank, a Swedish bank, has warned that the regional banking crisis in the U.S. is spreading. After several bank failures, he stressed that Pacwest Bank, Western Alliance Bank, and First Horizon Bank have all been “subject to financial meltdowns.” Swedbank on U.S. Banking Crisis Spreading Pär Magnusson, a fixed income strategist at
On May 6, Ethereum Foundation transferred nearly $30 million in Ether (ETH) to the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, causing jitters in the market about a potential selloff event. ETH price fell 4.8% to $1,900 on the day, but the decline has been negligible so far amid a wider recovery trend. ETH price holding key support Ether’s
Platforms authorized by the Russian government issued digital assets worth around a billion rubles in April, the local press reported. The spike in the volume has been attributed to Russian companies experimenting with new financial instruments amid limited access to traditional capital. Russia’s Digital Assets Market Livens Up as Capital Markets Dry Up for Russian