🇧🇷BCR #59: Brazil Jumps to 7th on Global Crypto Adoption Ranking
🇧🇷BCR #59: Brazil Jumps to 7th on Global Crypto Adoption Ranking
Plus: Hashdex launches bitcoin futures ETF in the US; Brazilian Football Confederation launches metaverse play
Bom dia pessoal!
I hope everyone had a great Merge week!
After collecting some feedback from various readers the last few weeks, I’ve decided to add a new section to this weekly newsletter focusing on crypto developments elsewhere in Latin America.
I’ve thought about this for a while but was reluctant mainly because I just don’t know as much about the other Latam countries as I do about Brazil. But there seems to be interest from readers and the only way to learn is to just start and figure it out as I go.
With that, I wanted to flag two CoinDesk articles that I thought did a great job of highlighting two critical Latam stories - El Salvador and Argentina.
The reason I’ve always tried staying away from El Salvador stuff is that media coverage of it always seems to be heavily slanted in a particular direction. Mainstream media takes the view that the whole experiment is a scam being imposed on the population by a reckless authoritarian president; crypto media homerists and bitcoin curmudgeons on Twitter view President Nayib Bukele as a hero at the same level as Simon Bolivar. In this context, one has to assume that everything you’re hearing is just propaganda and not reflective of reality.
That said, I really enjoyed this David Morris piece that examines El Salvador’s bitcoin experiment one year in, entitled 1 Year of Bitcoin in El Salvador: The Bad, The Good, The Ugly. This is probably the most well thought through and balanced take on El Salvador I’ve seen in some, if not ever, so definitely recommend taking a look.
The next is a piece by Leah Callon-Butler about a recent visit to Argentina where she examines the relationship between locals and stablecoins amid ongoing economic uncertainty and inflation.
Thanks to everyone for reading and I hope you enjoy this week’s edition!
-AWS
🎙Also please check out my latest podcast episode with Camila Rioja, head of Latam at Celo Foundation. We talked about the growing Celo ecosystem in Brazil and Latin America, dove into the concept of “regenerative finance” and discussed the Celo community’s various grants programs for those interested in getting involved. Check it out on Spotify here!
🙏Help keep 🇧🇷BCR free! If you find this content valuable, please consider supporting the mission of building a reliable English-language resource for the Brazil crypto ecosystem 👊
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ETH: 0x517bAEC8000FF2052f7B0BF56c5FDd9B6A5c69ab
🗞Brazil Crypto News Rundown
📈 Markets
Brazilian crypto asset manager Hashdex was approved to launch a bitcoin futures ETF in the United States. The product, called the Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF, was developed in partnership Teucrium Trading and Victory Capital. Notably, its the first such bitcoin ETF in the US to be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, which allows funds to invest in assets that are not considered securities. Hashdex CEO Marcelo Sampaio commented:
“This launch shows our commitment to bringing products and services with exposure in regulated digital assets with security and innovation. It is a significant milestone that addresses the specific needs of individual and institutional investors in the United States and around the world.” (Valor) (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (InfoMoney)
Xtage, the cryptocurrency trading platform of broker XP, announced 18 year financial veteran Marcos Horie as its CEO. He will lead Xtage’s digital business offerings. He told Valor in an interview:
“The initial results bring positive surprises. Our research shows that customers who bought crypto with us liked it. The next steps will be in terms of evolving the features in the app. Thus, we believe that we can greatly speed up the operation and serve even more customers who have crypto on other exchanges and want to bring it here.”
US exchange Coinbase representatives met virtually with executives from the Banco Central. It is unclear what specific topics were raised, though CoinTelegraph Brasil reports that regulation of the crypto market and Digital Real development were discussed. Attending the meeting on behalf of Coinbase was Tom Duff Gordon (VP of International Policy), John Medel (Public Policy Manager), Fabio Plein (director for Coinbase Brazil) and Ivo Corrêa, a partner at XVV Advogados. Renato Dias de Brito Gomes, director of organization of the financial system and resolution, represented BACEN. (Portal do Bitcoin)
Bitfinex announced that Brazilian customers can now withdraw BRL through the platform using Swapix, a gateway that allows USDT to BRL conversions via the Tron blockchain. Rocelo Lopes, founder of SmartPay - which launched Swapix, commented:
"The partnership has existed since the launch of Swapix but now with the new update it will be possible to convert Tether within the web platform and receive in Reals in the banking app." (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
A new report by blockchain infrastructure firm Paxos concludes that crypto adoption is outpacing the rest of the world largely due to Brazil’s outsized presence and growth. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Mercado Bitcoin CEO Reinaldo Rabelo posted an extensive note on Linkedin about “mistakes and hasty decisions” made during this latest bull market that have forced the firm to undergo two rounds of layoffs since the market collapsed earlier this year.
Singapore-based crypto exchange Bybit affirmed that it is continuing its operations in Brazil and complying with a CVM order to prohibit derivatives trading for Brazilian users. CEO Ben Zhou reaffirmed his commitment to the Brazilian market, commenting:
“We are committed to building our business in the Brazilian market and intend to continue in the market in the long term, working together with the appropriate regulatory bodies.” (MoneyTimes) (Portal do Bitcoin) (Valor) (Livecoins) (InfoMoney)
Mercado Bitcoin and Urca Trading launched a new token linked to a basket of energy trading contracts between Urca and its customers. 60,000 of the ENER02 tokens will be made available at a unit price of R$100 with expected annual return of 18%. (Portal do Bitcoin)
By integrating directly with Pix, the BRL has become the first official currency that can be transacted through Metamask. The familiarity that the Brazilian public now has with digital money via Pix means that cryptocurrency adoption should only increase from here. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Exame)
Mercado Bitcoin and Mercurius released a detailed report on the Ethereum Merge.
Nubank announced that it will no longer be registered on Brazil’s B3 exchange and will instead only be tradable on the NYSE. (BlockNews)
Ricardo Santos, head of technology at Parfin, wrote an op-ed discussing the importance of multi-party computation escrow services when discussing crypto asset custody and security. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
📱Adoption
Brazil ranked seventh in blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis’s latest Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index. The position marks a significant jump from 14th place in last year’s survey. Vietnam, Philippines, Ukraine, India, USA and Pakistan were the six countries that placed higher than Brazil for 2022. The survey takes into account digital asset trading volumes on centralized and decentralized exchanges, peer-to-peer trades and transactions on DeFi applications. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Portal do Bitcoin) (InfoMoney)
Economist Fernando Ulrich is warning that a Digital Real could be used as a totalitarian device to curtail the freedoms of Brazilian citizens, particularly as there are not clear privacy safeguards laid out. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Mercado Pago is giving away more than R$1 million in prizes to users who purchase cryptocurrencies or engage in other operations through the application. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Binance has enabled leveraged trading for $SANTOS, the fan token of the Santos Football Club. (Livecoins)
A Brazilian DAO called Kanna that combines marijuana and cryptocurrencies is aiming to generate US$40m in revenue by 2026. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Brazilian crypto investors weren’t super excited about The Merge compared to other countries, per a ranking put together by CoinGecko. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Enterprise blockchain solution provider GoLedger had its services registered as a “strategic defense product”, meaning that it can now participate in tenders issued by the Armed Forces. (BlockNews)
Brazilian payments unicorn Ebanx announced that it is expanding its operations to Africa. (BlockNews)
Football club Atletico Mineiro is looking to raise R$1.5m via tokens to produce a documentary film about former striker Reinaldo, considered to be the best player in the team’s history. The club is partnering with tokenization firm Feel the Match for the campaign. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Vasco da Gama, the Rio-based football club, began selling its $VASCO fan token via the Socios app in an offering capped at 100,000 valued at US$2 per token. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (MoneyTimes)
Cibra Coin, an “agro coin” issued by agro-business giant Cibra and backed by phosphate fertilizer, potassium chloride and urea, is being used as a hedge by Brazilian farmers. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Colombia and Canada have expressed interest in adopting Pix, the instant payment system operated by the Banco Central. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
The channel of Brazilian YouTuber Nando Moura was taken over by hackers promoting a Vitalik Buterin ETH giveaway scam. (CoinTimes)
Brazilian YouTuber Vinicius Kinzel has been touring Brazil showcasing bitcoin as a means of payment for his project Palavra de Satoshi. (Livecoins)
The legislative school in the state of Maranhão is offering courses on cryptocurrency to public servants and the general public. (Livecoins)
$SCCP, the Corinthians football club fan token, surged 20% after the team defeated Fluminense to the Copa do Brasil final against Flamengo. (CriptoFacil)
Vórtx QR Tokenizadora, the tokenized asset trading platform resulting from a joint venture between QR Capital and Vortx, hired Carlos Ratto as CEO. (BlockNews)
🎮 NFTs, Gaming and Metaverse
A Federal Court in Paraíba held a court hearing in the metaverse, marking the first time a Brazilian court has done so. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Play-to-earn and NFT games need to become more fun and more decentralized to gain mass adoption, experts at the Non-Fungible Conference argued. One such game, showcased at the event, that could meet those criteria is Cyberskies (Portal do Bitcoin)
BAYZ, the Brazilian play-to-earn gaming guild, partnered with game studio G4AL to promote the new NFT game Elemental Raiders throughout South America. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) launched an activation of the Brazilian national team in the metaverse with a mini-game called “Arena Seleção” for mobile devices. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Brazilian entrepreneurs are bullish on play-to-earn gaming as a driver of financial inclusion in the country, according to expert speakers at the Non-Fungible Conference. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Fernando Martines of Portal do Bitcoin had a write up discussing how Brazilian crypto leaders are viewing DAOs based on insights gleaned from the Non-Fungible Conference last week.
Brazilian game producer Gamecraft Studios is leaning into metaverse and NFT focused games. Gamecraft Sales executive Marcio Gandra explained:
“Even with several projects having left the market prematurely, either because of 'rug pulls' or for technical reasons and limitations, the market is highly promising, not only in Brazil but also abroad.” (Livecoins)
🏛 Public Policy, Regulation and Enforcement
The CVM, Brazil’s securities regulator, opened a proceeding against GAS Consultoria on allegations of financial fraud. The CVM reportedly changed its mind and decided to investigate after it was confirmed that GAS used client funds to invest in cryptocurrencies. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (Valor Investe)
The CVM expects to release guidance on crypto asset classifications in the coming days despite the absence of legislation creating a formal regulatory framework for the market. CVM president João Pedro Nascimento stated.
“I would like to raise awareness of the issue of accounting for crypto-assets. In the coming days, we will announce to the market a guidance opinion that will bring a lot of news in the sense of bringing together all the provisions so far presented by the CVM on the topic of crypto-assets..As there is still no law governing the matter, the CVM has no regulatory power, but even so, we will present a framework on our understanding of which cryptoassets are securities and can be regulated by the commission.” (Valor Investe) (Valor)
A regional electoral court in Rio de Janeiro unanimously rejected the candidacy of GAS Consultoria founder Glaidson Acacio dos Santos - known as the “Pharaoh of Bitcoins”. The Pharaoh had been eyeing a run for federal deputy despite being currently imprisoned. Judge Luiz Paulo Araujo, the rapporteur for the case, said that the court must take into account the “candidate’s previous life” when assessing applications. (CoinTelegraph Brasil) (
A Federal Court granted a Habeas Corpus petition for Glaidson, but he must remain in prison due to outstanding other cases. (Portal do Bitcoin)
Blockchain-stored records were used as evidence in a Bahia court case examining irregular advertising. (CoinTelegraph Brasil)
Attorney Artemio Picanço, one of the more well-respected crypto lawyers in Brazil who is clients who lost money in GAS Consultoria, does not expect crypto legislation to be voted on this year in the Brazilian Congress. (Portal do Bitcoin)
The Brazilian government is creating a new security center with the goal of preventing and responding to cyber attacks. (Portal do Bitcoin)
💣Elsewhere in Latam
Legislation was introduced in Uruguay that would clarify the country’s crypto regulatory framework. Specifically, it would create a new category for companies operating in the virtual asset space and place these companies under the supervision of the Central Bank of Uruguay. The proposal would also treat crypto assets as book-entry securities which can only be issued by registered, compliant entities. The bill was introduced by the executive branch and was submitted to the Uruguayan parliament. (CoinDesk) (Portal do Bitcoin)
The Federal Administration for Public Revenues, Argentina’s tax authority, raided three cryptocurrency mining facilities in the country in search of secret mining operations. The first raid happened in the province of San Juan, where an agriculture producer had heavy mining equipment housed in a fruit cooling area. Other raids were carried out in Cordoba and Buenos Aires. (CoinDesk)
Latin Americans are turning to dollar-pegged stablecoins amid rising inflation, per a report from Paxos. (CoinDesk)
Binance added former Mexican Securities Commission president Adalberto Palma Gomez to its global advisory board. (CoinDesk)
El Salvador is offering to buy back a portion of its sovereign debt bonds that are set to mature between 2023 and 2025. The plan has been seen by some as an attempt to counter speculation about a default after the country’s bitcoin investments have declined 50% in value. The country’s US$1bn bitcoin “Volcano Bond” still does not have a launch date. (CoinDesk)
In related news, Fitch Ratings cut El Salvador’s debt rating from CCC to CC and sees the country as likely to default on bond maturity payments due at the start of 2023. The government’s embrace of bitcoin has also made an IMF bailout less likely. (CoinDesk)
Argentine Deputy Dario Nieto introduced a bill that would require the use of blockchain tech for tracing social assistance payments. (Portal do Bitcoin)