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
Exchange wins case against bank that closed its account: Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Walltime has won a recent court battle against local fiat bank Caixa Economica Federal that chose to freeze its accounts with more than USD 200,000 in funds.
According to local Bitcoin website Portal do Bitcoin, Walltime won a preliminary injunction against its funds meaning that while the case isn’t finally decided, the exchange has now access to its funds in the interim period.
Walltime’s lawyer, Graziele Brandao said:
“Given that the nature of Walltime’s activity requires an open bank account in as many institutions as possible to facilitate 24/7 negotiations, Walltime suffered a lot of damage in that period.”
According to Brandao, the losses amount to much more than then quarter of a million dollars worth present in the bank at the time. It also lost some users because they weren’t able to withdraw and receive transactions through the bank.
The move follows a regional trend that involves banks illegally cracking down on exchanges and then exchanges winning cases in courts or temporarily getting their funds back as the case drags on.
Argentina
Government launches blockchain for public services: The government of Argentina has announced that it will have its own distributed ledger or DLT that will help provide service for various government agencies.
The blockchain will be called the Federal Blockchain of Argentina and is in development stages right now. The developers will help ensure that the platform is used to improve public processes and standardize private applications of the tech as well. There will be 15 stages of implementation overall.
OneCoin Ponzi postpones going public: The developers of OneCoin, a probable Ponzi coin scheme, have announced that they will be looking to push the release of their coin ahead in time due to issues faced by the company right now.
Back in 2017, the ROIs of the company crashed dramatically thus resulting in loss of coins and investment that had previously kept the organization afloat.
Venezuela
Government to peg local currency with Petro and reduce hyperinflation: The Venezuelan government is on yet another bold move as the embattled state decided to peg its Bolivar fiat currency to its fiat national cryptocurrency that is supposedly backed by oil. It has also decided to remove five zeros from the Bolivar that is suffering from hyperinflation.
Speaking to the nation Nicholas Maduro, the president of Venezuela said:
“The economic re-conversion will start on August 20 definitively with the circulation and issuance of the new Sovereign Bolivar.”
Venezuela’s considerable problems in the economy are well known and it will take a lot of effort and austerity from the government to solve the current issues. Petro has been seen as a viable alternative that can solve these problems and circumnavigate the heavy sanctions placed on it by the United States.
Chile
5,000 merchants now accept crypto payments in Chile: Bitcoin and cryptocurrency penetration in Chile is encouraging, as local payment company Flow and its new partnership with Cryptomkt exchange allow customers to pay for daily goods and services with cryptocurrencies.
The move is especially encouraging in the country as it comes in the backdrop of a Court of Appeals order that ruled banks banning exchanges accounts illegal. Flow is an integrated platform for the solution of transactions. It has more than 20,000 active customers and offers services in several mainstream online payment gateways including WebPay, and OnePay.
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The post South America: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup, 27th July to 2nd August 2018 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.