The Bank of Spain is asking the country’s leading financial institutions to provide information on their crypto-related plans for the next three years, the newspaper El Pais reported Thursday.The central bank has requested that banks include information on their relationships with crypto service providers, stakes in crypto companies and exposure to crypto. It has also asked banks whether they plan to issue tokens or provide custody, trading or payment services for crypto, and to outline any initiatives to market products or offer services to customers through a digital platform over the next three years.According to unnamed Bank of Spain sources cited in the El Pais article, the purpose of the data request is to know “the impact that the ongoing process of digitalization and … [Read More...]

En un primer momento Cynthia Gutiérrez se negó a descargar Chivo Wallet, la billetera digital desarrollada por el gobierno de El Salvador para el uso de bitcoin en todo el país, lanzada el 7 de septiembre.Decidió descargar la aplicación el 16 de octubre después de enterarse por otros salvadoreños de que hackers habían activado billeteras asociadas con diferentes documentos de identidad, conocidos por sus siglas como DUI en El Salvador.“Esto fue creciendo cada vez más, llegando a mi círculo cercano”, dijo Gutiérrez, de 28 años, a CoinDesk.Cuando Gutiérrez introdujo sus datos personales, apareció una pantalla con una notificación que indicaba que su número de documento ya estaba asociado a una billetera. Inmediatamente, hizo una captura de pantalla, temiendo que sus datos fueran utilizados con fines ilícitos.El … [Read More...]

99Pay, the digital wallet of Brazilian ride-hailing company 99, will enable the purchase and sale of bitcoin on its platform, the company announced on Tuesday.Users of 99Pay will be able to execute commission-free transactions with a minimum purchase amount of 10 Brazilian reais and a maximum of 10,000 reais – equivalent to 1,800 U.S. dollars – starting Nov. 3.99Pay, part of the Chinese vehicle-for-hire company DiDi, said that the platform will deliver bitcoin cashback promotions as well.The initiative comes amid rapidly increasing interest in cryptocurrency among Brazilians and demand for crypto services. According to data published by the country’s Central Bank (BCB) in October, Brazilians have already acquired $4.27 billion so far in 2021. On the legislative front, Brazil’s congress plans to discuss a bill… [Read More...]

OSL, a Hong Kong-based digital asset trading platform, has started offering its exchange services to professional and institutional investors in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and México, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The company, part of BC Group, a public technology and digital asset company, will provide institutional customers with “access to a global liquidity pool,” the company said. Fernando Martinez, OSL’s head of Americas, told CoinDesk that the company was addressing the growing demand for crypto services among institutional investors in Latin America and will serve regional funds, family offices and private banks. “Until the end of the year, we have removed fees for professional investors and institutions that want to start interacting with our exchange,” Martinez said, adding that the exchange … [Read More...]

Ernesto, a gastronomic entrepreneur in Cumaná, a coastal Venezuelan city facing the Caribbean Sea, initially thought that Venezuela’s new digital bolivar — English translation of “bolivar digital” — would be similar to a central bank digital currency.He even started talking with friends in different crypto chat rooms about the announcement, until he understood that “digital” was just in the name.“It’s a normal currency, fiat money. They are going to print a bill,” said Ernesto, who preferred to keep his last name anonymous.The Venezuelan government launched a digital bolivar last Friday, and it is already generating uncertainty and nervousness, several locals told CoinDesk.The new bolivar appears to be yet another attempt by the government to combat hyperinflation. Last year, according to the local … [Read More...]

Colombian fintech Movii raised $15 million in a Series B funding round to create a bitcoin purchasing service and expand other services, the company announced Wednesday.The round was co-led by payments services company Square and Hard Yaka, an investment fund founded by former Ripple Chief Risk Officer Greg Kidd.Movii said in a statement that the partnership with new investors would enable Movii to “accelerate the growth of its existing services and launch new ones,” and that it plans to raise a Series C round before the end of the year.Since July, Movii has participated with two exchanges, Panda and Bitpoint, in a Colombian government-sponsored pilot program that allows financial institutions to provide deposit and withdrawal services to and from a crypto … [Read More...]

Brazil’s Congress will discuss a bill that regulates companies operating in the cryptocurrency sector and increases penalties for crypto pyramid schemes and other illegal activities.A special commission of the Brazilian House of Representatives already approved the bill presented on Sept. 29. If approved by the plenary, the legislation, which was introduced by deputy Aureo Ribeiro, would force “virtual asset service providers to follow rules of communication of financial transactions, with identification of customers and record keeping,” according to a Portuguese-language text published on the Brazil Congressional website.The bill also would also increase the penalty for money laundering crimes using virtual currencies, including bitcoin.Currently, the penalty for money laundering in Brazil consists of imprisonment for three to 10 years and a fine, according to the … [Read More...]

El Banco Central de Chile analiza la creación de su propia moneda digital (CBDC, por sus siglas en inglés).La entidad formará un equipo para analizar los objetivos, requisitos y regulaciones para el desarrollo de una CBDC, dijo el presidente del Banco Central, Mario Marcel, en un comunicado el miércoles.La potencial moneda digital, de acuerdo al Banco Central de ese país, “se emitiría de forma similar a los billetes y monedas, y podría utilizarse para transacciones en el comercio o entre particulares, o para que las instituciones financieras liquiden pagos entre pares”.El grupo conformado planea entregar un white paper en el primer trimestre de 2022, en el cual presentará un marco de actuación y objetivos estratégicos, líneas de acción y resultados esperados.Liderado por el consejero … [Read More...]

BTG Pactual plans to launch a platform for blockchain-based investments, the Brazilian investment bank announced Monday.BTG Pactual’s crypto arm, called Mynt, will be available in the last quarter of 2021 and allow exposure to bitcoin and ether, the company said, adding that it would make the service available to users of BTG Pactual digital and BTG+, its digital bank.“At this first moment, we will have the two main assets of the market, but we will include other cryptos for trading over time,” André Portilho, head of Digital Assets at BTG Pactual, said in a statement. “We will have a complete platform with blockchain-based assets.” According to Portilho, Mynt will also provide educational and informational content for clients about crypto technology.BTG Pactual , … [Read More...]