Bitcoin in Spanish is a weekly newsletter from CriptoNoticias in which we review the most important news related to bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchains in the Hispanic world.
Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and many of the companies that are part of its industry are gaining ground among Spanish-speaking countries. During the second week of this year, particularly in Argentina, Spain and Venezuela, there were many news that prove it.
In the Argentine case, the arrival of companies such as Strike and Coinbase stands out; while Spain would add dozens of new Bitcoin ATMs, and Venezuela is preparing for an event dedicated to the world of cryptocurrencies in Caracas.
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Do you want to know these and other outstanding news for the Hispanic world, such as what happened in Colombia, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico or Mexico? Don’t miss this week’s Bitcoin in Spanish:
Argentina
Our second Bitcoin in Spanish of 2022 begins with the arrival of Strike in Argentina. Despite the fact that both the company, its CEO Jack Mallers and various industry media assured that this implied an advance for bitcoin in the South American country, in CriptoNoticias we confirmed that the Strike gateway does not work with bitcoin in the Argentine case: what carries the population is the stablecoin tether (USDT). Although the version of Strike available for Argentina reads QR codes from Bitcoin and Lightning addresses for payments, funds are automatically converted to USDT.
Another foreign company that steps on Argentine territory is the Coinbase exchange. This week the National Securities Commission approved Argentine deposit certificates (CEDEAR) of ETFs (exchange-traded funds) to Ark Innovation, which among its holdings includes the bitcoin exchange.
We are now going with a local company, which could apparently be preparing its own currency. At least, that seems to be inferred from a finding in MercadoLibre’s source code: the word “melicoin”, which combines the company’s Nasdaq ticker and the English word “currency”.
We continue with companies in Argentina, although this time it is not about new products but about a complaint: Generación ZOE was criminally sued by the NGO Bitcoin Argentina. The company, involved in various conflicts over possible scams and the Zoe Cash token, was accused by the NGO of “the possible commission of the crimes of fraud, unauthorized public savings capture and market manipulation.”
On the other hand, the cryptocurrency trading platform CryptoAvisos announced the addition to its system of the profile verification with Proof of Humanity (POH or Test of Humanity), optionally.
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Finally, it highlights a novelty for schools in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital: a cycle of financial education that includes bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In total, there will be 18 cycle hours for students in their last year of high school, starting in the 2022 school year.
Colombia
In Colombia, the economic problems that we have been reporting in CriptoNoticias during the last months of 2021 continue. Now, analysts foresee a new inflationary peak for this year. Will Colombians seek refuge in bitcoin? That could be the scenario, as some recent examples in the region show.
Costa Rica
Bitcoin mining continues to establish itself as an economic activity in Latin American territory. To the cases of Argentina, El Salvador, Paraguay or Venezuela we can now add Costa Rica, where a hydroelectric plant houses more than 600 machines for digital mining owned by some 150 different clients.
The Savior
Let’s briefly go to the country preferred by bitcoiners in recent times, after declaring bitcoin as legal tender. El Salvador is, once again, in the sights of international organizations that take a dim view of the management of the purchase of bitcoins for the national treasury.
On this occasion, it was the Moody’s risk rating agency, which warned of the possible entry into the risk zone if the Nayib Bukele government continues to buy bitcoin. It stands out from this position that The more than 1,300 BTC that El Salvador has acquired so far do not represent a risk at the moment, according to the reading made by the qualifier.
The other note of the week that involves the Central American country is not positive at all: according to information from the research laboratory The Citizen Lab, at least 37 journalists and activists investigating Bukele were spied on through their mobile phones for around a year and medium.
Spain
We begin our tour of Spain with the proliferation of cryptocurrency ATMs. On the one hand, with the alliance between the local exchange Bitnovo and Eurocoin, who foresee the installation of a hundred new ATMs in the European country; on the other, there is the future start-up of ATMs in Carmila shopping centers. A) Yes, Spain would surpass in machines those that there are right now in El Salvador.
Regarding regulatory aspects, the week in Spain was busy, with several news: Treasury will force Spaniards to declare the bitcoins they have abroad, the Securities Commission clarified that cryptocurrency exchanges are not among its subjects of supervision and the Spanish began the expectation before the imminent entry into force of the regulation for advertising on cryptocurrencies.
Mexico
The buyer paid 5.78 bitcoins for the apartment in Tulum. Source: CriptoNoticias.
As for Mexico, during this week the real estate company La Haus achieved the first sale of a property paid for with bitcoin in the country. It is an apartment in Tulum, a tourist area in the Riviera Maya. The buyer, from Peru, paid 5.78 BTC, equivalent to around $250,000.
The other news that came from Mexico was the arrival of the Bitso exchange as a sponsor of the Mexican soccer team and the foray of the most famous youtuber in Mexico, Luisito Comunica, into the world of NFTs.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, whose presence on our website is not very common, could start generating news more regularly. At least that seems to indicate the wide interest that the island has been generating among investors, mainly due to its low taxes.
Venezuela
Caracas is looking forward to the next big event on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Venezuela: the Caracas Bitcoin Experience, which has already begun to make its participants public and will take place on January 28 and 29 in the Venezuelan capital.
Meanwhile, this weekend the launch of a virtual card that allows its users to pay for consumption online and can be recharged with bitcoin. This, already outlined by other local companies, was a tool demanded by many Venezuelans, who do not have the tools to consume online on sites like Amazon, Netflix, for example.
Finally, we move to the world of NFTs, with two sides of the coin: on the positive side, we have the launch of a collection by Venezuelan artist Oscar Olivares on Binance; On the negative side, we find the complaint of another artist from the South American country, EDO for the sale of NFT of his works without his consent in the OpenSea market.
events of the week
Among the events related to bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchains in the region for this week, the following stand out in the CriptoNoticias calendar:
- Monday, January 17: «Digital currencies», organized by Web3 Latam.
- Tuesday, January 18: «DeFi Nation», an event organized by Web3 Latam.
- Wednesday, January 19: «NFT’s». Organize web3 Latam.
- Thursday, January 20: “Introductory talk to Bitcoin and Blockchain”, by the NGO Bitcoin Argentina.
- Friday, January 21: «Blockchain x Social Impact», by Web3 Latam.
Businesses that accept cryptocurrencies in Spanish-speaking countries
Do you know or have a small business that accepts bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for its products and services?
We invite you to share the information with us through [email protected]. We will inform about the adoption of cryptocurrencies of that business in some of the Spanish-speaking countries.
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