South America
Welcome to our weekly roundup of all important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from around the world. Follow the latest developments in the cryptocurrency space continent by continent, country by country.
Chile
Bank reopens account of crypto exchange: A Chilean bank reopened the accounts of cryptocurrency exchanges following a court ruling in their favor. The accounts were suspended after the three major banks in the South American country stopped handling crypto exchange accounts of users and the top three exchanges, including Buda.com and cryptomkt, appealed to Chile’s Tribunal for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC) and got a ruling in their favor.
Bancoestado became the first of these three banks to accept the decision and reopened the accounts in the first major win for cryptocurrencies in the country. The other two banks, Unibanc and Itau, are set to appeal the decision of the top court after having their previous appeals rejected by the competition court.
Brazil
Crypto seen as a way to circumnavigate Brazil’s notorious bureaucracy: According to Ruairi Luke McCallan of Hacker Moon, cryptocurrencies and blockchain can help improve social justice and entrepreneurship in Brazil and bypass its notorious red tape that hampers free trade development.
While banks and other financial institutions are looking into the business of adopting blockchain, McCallan sees that cryptocurrencies can help the country improve its free trade through decentralization, as it is seriously affected by lengthy government legislation and over-regulation.
The Brazilian Association of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain (ABCB) is reportedly in the thick of things but there hasn’t been an overwhelming response from the Brazilian government as of now.
Venezuela
Bitcoin mining gaining momentum in Venezuela as hyperinflation reaches 18,000%: Venezuelans are increasingly looking to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining to survive the massive hyperinflation in the country, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The capital city Caracas has become a crypto mining hub according to Daniel Cancel, a resident of the city also into crypto mining, earning more than USD 6 per day. Venezuelans are pooling money into cryptocurrency mining with some combined ventures earning more than USD 1,000 per day, a small fortune in the country considering its hyperinflation statistics.
According to Cancel:
“One key to my mining pals’ success: electricity, while spotty, is basically free, the result of an odd combination of hyperinflation and government-mandated utility price freezes. (It’ll cost you 900,000 bolivars—or about USD 0.90 at the black-market rate—for a coffee, pastry, and juice at a cafe, but you can pay your monthly electricity, water, gas, internet and phone bills for about 300,000 bolivars.).”
The Venezuelan government is also banking a lot on its own cryptocurrency Petro for international trade following heavy US sanctions but it is experiencing a hard time in getting it recognized from the international community.
India rejects Petro to pay for crude oil: The Indian government has rejected using Venezuela’s state cryptocurrency Petro citing cryptocurrencies being outlawed by the national bank. The move comes after the South American country offered discounts of up to 30% if the payments were made in its own cryptocurrency.
The Reserve Bank of India banned the use of cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency exchanges in the country last month following a sweeping measure to protect investors from fraudulent activities.
So far, no country has promised to use the Petro for payment of crude oil, the largest export from Venezuela thus causing problems in the adoption of the cryptocurrency.
One satoshi now more valuable than Bolivar Fuerte: Hyperinflation in Venezuela has gripped the nation; 1 Satoshi is now worth more than 6 Venezuelan Bolivars. A satoshi is the smallest denomination of Bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC) and still it is now more than six times as valuable as the local currency.
The economic crisis in the country is now a national problem with the government at a loss on how to resolve the crisis.
Argentina
Country planning to install 30,000 Bitcoin ATMs: Argentina is now in full grip of the Bitcoin revolution with the country planning on installing more than 30,000 Bitcoin ATMs even as the worldwide Bitcoin ATMs number just over 3,100.
A pre-agreement for 4,000 machines has already been signed. Rising Bitcoin prices and inflation in the country is forcing many to turn to cryptocurrencies for a sound investment.
Columbia
Football superstar James Rodrigues announces JR10 Coin. James Rodriguez, one of the Columbia’s biggest football stars, has announced a new cryptocurrency called JR10 according to latest reports from USA Today.
The football star is not the first sports icon to launch the coin with Floyd Mayweather and Michael Owen also planning on launching their own cryptocurrency. Lionel Messi has also been affiliated with Sirin Labs for a blockchain smartphone.
Follow BitcoinNews.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bitcoinnewscom
Telegram Alerts from BitcoinNews.com at https://t.me/bconews
The post South America: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup, 25th to 31st May 2018 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.