Canadian Bitcoin mining firm Bitfarms has updated its plans for expansion in South America, revealing it has secured an eight-year contract to draw up to 210 megawatts, or MW, of electricity for $0.022 per kilowatt-hour, or kWh. According to an April 19 announcement, Bitfarms has made significant progress in solidifying the terms for its Argentine operation since first signing a non-binding memorandum to build a 60 MW power plant in October 2020. In addition to expanding securing a 250% increase in power capacity and agreeing to a 10% increase in electricity pricing, Bitfarms revealed it is in advanced discussions with …

The year 2020 will go down in history as the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way it affected the Argentine economy. But it is also true that Argentina has been dragging along economic problems for decades, with high fiscal pressure, devaluation of the national currency (the Argentine peso), restrictions on the purchase of foreign currency, etc. Beyond that, events have occurred that have to do with attempts to regulate the crypto ecosystem, in addition to those linked to private companies and the adoption of cryptocurrencies. The following is a summary of the events that marked the last year …

Argentina's brittle economy — stricken by endemic problems that have only worsened amid the COVID-19 pandemic — has sparked rising unrest in the country's agricultural sector. Earlier this month, representatives of the bulk of national producers rejected President Alberto Fernandez’s government's decision to suspend all exports of corn as part of its efforts to stem inflation and exert downward pressure on domestic corn prices. The farmers' strike followed a similar wave of resistance in the oilseed and soy industries in December 2020. The rise in labor unrest poses a challenge for the stewards of the national economy, given that agriculture …

Brazil’s largest Bitcoin exchange, Mercado Bitcoin, has announced plans to expand across Latin America. Chief executive Reinaldo Rabelo named Chile, Mexico, and Argentina as among the jurisdictions it will expand into first, comparing the “regulatory culture” in those countries to Brazil’s. According to Useful Tulips, Mexico is currently the fourth-largest Latin American country by peer-to-peer Bitcoin trade volume, with Chile ranking fifth, and Argentina ranking seventh. The strong P2P trade volume suggest there may be significant demand from local traders that is not met by centralized platforms. The announcement comes alongside news of an investment round that saw Mercado Bitcoin …

Ripio, a digital asset company based in Argentina, has purchased major Brazilian crypto exchange BitcoinTrade. According to Argentinian newspaper Ambito, the acquisition is part of Ripio’s plan to spread across South America. BitcoinTrade is reportedly the second-largest crypto exchange in the country by volume. Ripio CEO and co-founder Sebastián Serrano said it made the purchase to “expand access to the world of digital assets” in the region. "We are convinced that Ripio is the best company to extend the path we are building with BitcoinTrade in Brazil,” said BitcoinTrade founder Carlos Andre Montenegro. Founded in 2013, Ripio claims to be …

Bitcoin (BTC) is just a few thousand dollars away from its all-time high near $20,000 U.S. dollars. However, while much of the crypto industry watch Bitcoin’s price action in U.S. dollar terms, BTC has already achieved all-time high prices relative to numerous other world currencies. In an Oct. 22 tweet, Alistair Milne mentioned seven countries in which Bitcoin had already reached its all-time high relative to those countries' native fiat currencies. In the same tweet, he said Colombia and Russia would soon join the list. Bitcoin recently surpassed its all-time high against the Russian ruble earlier this month. The asset …

Argentine congressman Ignacio Torres plans to present a bill addressing cryptocurrencies to the Argentine Parliament. Cointelegraph en Español spoke with Efraín Barraza, Operations Manager of Athena Bitcoin in Argentina, and Alberto Vega, CEO of Bithan, who collaborated on the draft and who are looking to discuss a legal framework for crypto in Argentina. Both Barraza and Vega remarked that their interest is to have a conversation and debate about blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in Argentina, so that they do not get left behind, and considering that other countries are already discussing these issues. Efraín Barraza explained: "We understand that the …

Government officials in Argentina are refusing to negotiate with a ransomware group that forced them to briefly close all immigration checkpoints on Aug. 27. According to a Sept. 6 report on Bleeping Computer, a group of Netwalker ransomware hackers breached Argentina's immigration agency, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, on Aug. 27 and initially demanded a $2 million payment to restore its servers. "Your files are encrypted,” stated a ransom note on a Tor payment page sent to the immigration agency. “Only way to decrypt your files is [sic] buy the decrypter program.” The group posted a select batch of sensitive data …

Half a dozen emerging markets have established new records for weekly peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin (BTC) trading, including India, Ghana, the Philippines, Argentina, Mexico and Egypt, according to data published by Useful Tulips. India comprised the strongest market to post a new record for trade activity, with $3.4 million worth of BTC trading hands over the past seven days. India’s P2P markets began gaining significant momentum from the second quarter onwards, with Indian volume beating out its December 2017 all-time high of $2.95 million last month before consistently rallying above $3 million this month. African P2P markets continue to show strength …

Telecom, Argentina's largest telecommunications company, has fallen victim to a ransomware attack. Hackers are demanding $7.5 million in Monero (XMR) — an amount that will rise to $15 million if the company does not pay within 48 hours. Argentina's major telephone company, Telecom, just got hacked. Hackers requesting a ransom of $7.5 million in Monero. $XMR pic.twitter.com/AGNvAXh1cg — Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) July 19, 2020 According to El Tribuno, the ransomware attack, which specifically affected Telecom’s call center, took place on July 18. The ransomware was ultimately contained by the Argentinian conglomerate’s IT workers. In a statement issued to local media …

The COVID-19 crisis has brought many new users to the world of cryptocurrencies. One of the main concerns for users, however, is whether their bank cards may be blocked due to the purchase of a cryptocurrency, or when withdrawing funds from a crypto account. Can this risk be prevented? Since the COVID-19 outbreak and people’s subsequent desire to protect their savings, interest in cryptocurrency has continued to grow. A June 2020 survey conducted by The Tokenist found that 45% of respondents from 17 countries now prefer to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) rather than stocks, real estate or gold. For comparison’s …

Bitso, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in Latin America, has hit 1 million users prior to its upcoming launch in Brazil. Santiago Alvarado, director of cross-border payments at Bitso, discussed the latest developments in leveraging crypto for cross-border payments in Latin America during a Unitize panel on July 8. The discussion was joined by Ripple’s director of product Craig DeWitt and Prysm Group’s Reed Cataldo. Bitso tops Argentinian market after launching in February During the panel, Alvarado revealed that Bitso reached a major milestone by hitting a one million user market last week. After topping Mexican and Argentinian crypto …