Bitcoin in South America: Progress in the Face of Criticism
In recent weeks, we have seen an increased level of interest in Bitcoin in South American countries, such as Argentina. Is this the beginning of a Bitcoin boom in South America, or should we be more realistic? South American Governments Wary of Bitcoin. South American countries are notorious for their history financial instability. Not only are most countries plagued with hyper-inflationary local currencies such as the Argentine Peso, but citizens are also having a hard time obtaining any other currency from the government. By locking down people in a very tightly controlled ecosystem,....
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Trading volume on peer-to-peer exchanges broke another all-time high in most of South America, Russia, and even in the U.S. South America Following Venezuela. According to recent stats, Bitcoin continues to gain popularity presenting itself as a way out from accentuated inflation, demonetization policies and general economic and political uncertainty in troubled countries. Besides Russia (as usual), LocalBitcoins has registered another record week across South America. Countries including Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil are all seeing record high trading volumes in their respective....
World powers are fighting to influence policy in South America, but bitcoin prevents outside powers from exerting subversive pressure in the region.
A South African tax expert, Thomas Lobban, has warned non-tax paying crypto traders that they now face possible jail time if the South African Revenue Services (SARS) decides to lay tax offense charges against them. He adds that this threat of jail time similarly applies to South African crypto traders that use offshore exchange platforms to trade or store their crypto assets. Lack of Guidance Blamed Lobban’s warning follows reports earlier in the year which suggested that changes to South African tax laws may have made it “easier for SARS to secure criminal convictions for....
Idea.me, a regional crowdfunding platform in South America, has embraced bitcoin payments. Although the platform uses a Montenegrin domain, it's an Argentinean outfit currently available in seven South American countries. In fact, Idea.me is the only regional crowdfunding platform in South America, according to TechCrunch. So far, the company has managed to raise $750,000 and it hopes to raise a further $2.4m in Series A funding next March. To date, the platform has funded over 450 projects using an estimated $2m. Idea.me recently added bitcoin as an alternative to more traditional payment....
BitInka, a bitcoin platform that operates in Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia and Brazil will soon expand its services throughout Argentina, Colombia and Chile, to become South America's first universal bitcoin platform targeted for the unbanked. Founded in 2013 by Roger Gabriel, BitINKA is one of the only companies in South America which implemented bitcoin trading to create a bitcoin exchange that allows its users to convert/withdraw bitcoin for many local currencies of South America, including the Peruvian Nueva Sol and the Argentinian peso. Through its international and instant bitcoin....