OKEx, a major global cryptocurrency exchange, is embracing the Latin American crypto market by launching a fiat gateway for three local currencies. According to a July 3 announcement, OKEx users can now buy Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in exchange for the Argentine peso (ARS), the Brazilian real (BRL), and the Mexican peso (MXN) via a direct bank transfer. OKEx implements Settle Network’s Latamex tool OKEx’s partnership with a company called Settle Network allowed them to enable these features. Settle Network is claimed to be the largest digital settlement network in Latin America. The new service is provided through Latamex, …

Despite once ranking as the fourth-most popular app in Venezuela, pioneering crypto wallet provider BRD, formerly BreadWallet, attributes its success in the country to local demand for crypto assets. Speaking with Cointelegraph on the topic of BRD’s success in Venezuela, CEO Adam Traidman stated that local demand for crypto assets has been the principal driver of the app’s popularity in the country. “In all honesty, I would love to be able to tell you it was a result of our brilliant marketing team and great advertising strategies and all that — it was none of those things,” he said. “At …

Amid declining global volume, Localbitcoins.com continues to comprise a hub for Latin American peer-to-peer (P2P) trade — with Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela posting record volume over recent weeks according to Coin.dance. This past week saw Localbitcoins trade between Bitcoin (BTC) and the Mexican peso spike by 71%. As such, the week of April 25 saw roughly $430,000 worth of BTC change hands in Mexico — comprising the fourth-strongest weekly trade activity on record. Latin markets post record volumes during April Argentinian P2P trade rallied to post a new record of more than $710,000 in weekly volume during the week of …

The volume of Bitcoin (BTC) in Argentine pesos has risen exponentially since the 2018 cryptocurrency crash, as the country faces a possible default on $65 billion in foreign debt. Arcane Research posted data to Twitter on April 23 showing that the weekly volume of Bitcoin purchased with Argentine pesos has jumped 1028% since January 2018. However, the volume from BTC and USD has also shown substantial increases of 407% and 139%, respectively. Source: Twitter This surge is happening “as the government is about to default on its debt and the currency is suffering from inflation.” Demand for crypto in uncertain …

An Argentinian consortium of banks and technology companies under the patronage of the Central Bank of Argentina is promoting a pilot program implementing blockchain. The system would be used to handle direct account debit claims. The pilot was announced on April 21 by IOV Labs, the developer of the RSK blockchain. The company is part of the 2019 Financial Innovation Roundtable, which also includes Sabra Group, Banco de la Provincia de Córdoba, BBVA, ICBC, Banco Santander and others. The group has worked for several months since the end of 2019 to create a system that would track bank account transactions …

Argentina’s natural gas regulator, Enargas, approved the expansion of a blockchain-based gas distribution tracking platform. The system was already piloted by a local distributor servicing over 2 million residents. According to an announcement on March 18, the system — dubbed Gasnet — was authorized for expansion to the whole country. Before now, the network was used only by Gasnor, a 2 million customer-strong local gas distributor. A spokesperson from RSK, the blockchain platform used by the system, told Cointelegraph that the regulator pushed for this service expansion due to the advantages experienced by Enargas: “It is easier to control for …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has rolled out peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading with five new Latin American fiat currencies. Users of the Binance P2P trading platform can now buy and sell cryptocurrency directly with Brazilian real (BRL), Argentine peso (ARS), Colombian peso (COP), Mexican peso (MXN) and Peruvian sol (PEN). Supported cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), Binance Coin (BNB) and Binance USD (BUSD). The platform has zero transaction fees and uses an escrow service to protect user funds. Latin American region active in crypto trading Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao — also known as CZ — said that Latin America …

In the midst of the global emergency caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the Argentine government confirmed on March 14 that they suffered a hack on the website of their official gazette (Boletin Official) based on blockchain technology, where false statements regarding the coronavirus were spread. According to officials quoted by El Cronista, there were direct hacking attempts that failed to enter the newsletter's system. Still, the hackers located a vulnerability that allowed fake news to be spread through edition 34,239 of the bulletin. Such information mentioned some guidelines that were supposedly adopted for state employees amid the coronavirus emergency in …

Josefina Canale, Argentina's lawmaker, has declared through her personal Twitter account that she is in favor of creating an exclusive cryptocurrency for the city of Mendoza, which would be backed and monitored by the local government. The lawmaker adds that she has been studying the subject to propose it in legislative discussions, also suggesting that a digital token could be useful for paying taxes. One of the motivations is that this currency could help insulate Mendoza from the current national macroeconomic situation — Argentina’s peso is in dire straits. Mixed reactions to the proposal The announcement received a mixed reception …

The government of Argentina has announced that it is suspending the national blockchain-based mechanism to register new companies for a period of 180 days. The measure, according to statements made by Ricardo Nissen to La Nación, who is the head of the General Inspectorate of Justice (IGJ), seeks to reorder the registration of new companies so that the IGJ can participate in the entire process. Back to the traditional way During the suspension period, which will begin as of the second week of March, registrations of the Companies for Simplified Shares — known in Spanish as SAS — should be …

Bitcoin (BTC) weekly trading volumes on peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platform LocalBitcoins in Venezuela and Argentina have hit new all-time highs in their respective national currencies. Cryptocurrency data website CoinDance shows that LocalBitcoins trading volume in local fiat currency in Argentina and Venezuela have hit new record highs. According to the website’s data, the week ending on Dec. 21 saw over 32.6 million Argentine pesos (equivalent to about $544,905) traded on the platform, or 34% more than the record registered two weeks before. LocalBitcoins weekly trading volume in Argentina in Argentine pesos | Coindance In Venezuela, on the other hand, over …

Binance, the leading global cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and users, today announced the launch of its fiat gateway for Latin America. The announcement was made during laBitConf, a major crypto event for Latin America held in Montevideo, Uruguay. The new platform, named Latamex, will operate under the Binance Fiat Gateway and will allow Binance’s Latin American users to purchase cryptocurrency directly in association with Settle Network, a Latin American digital asset liquidation network. The new platform will initially be launched in Argentina and Brazil, allowing the direct purchase of cryptocurrencies using Argentine pesos and Brazilian reals. Users will be …