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.
Brazil
Ronaldinho launches own crypto: Brazilian football icon Ronaldinho is joining the cryptocurrency bandwagon by launching his own cryptocurrency project, according to latest reports from Brazil.
Rather than just promising a cryptocurrency, Ronaldinho is aiming to launch a football ecosystem including football academies, holding professional and amateur matches around the world, building and operating a sports betting platform and marketplace and developing VR stadiums around the world.
The project is definitely an ambitious initiative by the smiling Brazilian who was the star of the World Cup in 2002. The coin he is launching is being touted as Ronaldinho Soccer Coin (RSC). The project will reportedly be based on the Ethereum blockchain and will be executed via a partnership with World Soccer Coin, a Malta-based blockchain startup. Ronaldinho has also Tweeted about the particular project.
Chile
Crypto mining consumes more electricity than Chile amid UN Calls for reducing carbon footprint: According to latest reports from Digiconomist, the total energy being used by cryptocurrency mining has now surpassed the total consumption of the whole of Chile. The total amount of power being used in the last 12 months has been around 13.66 TWh to 71.62 TWh.
The amount of energy used by cryptocurrencies has seen a steady increase in recent years despite mining companies announcing more efficient mining equipment. The UN has already called for reducing the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency mining around the world but historically, mining companies have only operated in areas with cheap electricity.
Argentina
Universities offering blockchain courses: Argentinian universities, along with those in Spain and Venezuela, are now offering courses in cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
While cryptocurrency training and courses are nothing new in other parts of the world especially Asia, Argentina is seeing a rapid advance towards cryptocurrency adoption. The new courses in Spanish offer training in Bitcoin, Ethereum and blockchain programming.
Venezuela
Crypto helping people survive in Venezuela: The Venezuelan public suffering from crushing debt is now using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to aid survival.
Hyperinflation is rampant in this part of the world despite the country having one of the largest reserves of oil in the world. The trading volume in the country also keeps hitting record highs despite a government ban on trading. All of this means cryptocurrencies are still going strong in the country and are helping the people avoid hyperinflation and put food on the table.
The Bitcoin Magazine did a series of reports on how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are helping people survive. The example included anonymous accounts from people who used cryptocurrency trading and holding to cancel out the effects of hyperinflation in the country.
One Alias Hector said:
“We were almost running out of food some days ago; it was common for that to happen every six or seven days after getting paid. With the 3 Nano (around USD 8) we were able to buy food for the whole week and that’s only something to be very happy about, something that doesn’t happen very often.”
Petro to help fund 2 million homeless people: The Venezuelan government has said it plans to initiate a fund for the homeless population using the state cryptocurrency called Petro.
The country’s minister for housing Ildemaro Villarroel has said that the project will be initiated in the second quarter and will be financed by the state cryptocurrency and more than 33 companies have already started logistics, financial and technical testing.
Villarroel said:
“Together with the governors, we are reviewing the plans that we will begin in the second quarter, in this second quarter GMVV will have an injection of financial resources, which this year will be protected and established with [the] Petro.”
The Petro cryptocurrency was launched amid great fanfare by the current president Nicholas Maduro but has since then struggled to become a widely accepted cryptocurrency despite efforts by the government.
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The post South America: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup, 5th to 12th July 2018 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.