South America
Welcome to our weekly roundup of all important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from around the world. Follow the latest developments in the cryptocurrency space continent by continent, country by country.
Brazil
Exchange wins legal tussle against big bank: Popular Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Braziliex has won an initial legal tussle against local big bank Bradesco because of closure of bank accounts associated with the exchange.
Braziliex first reported the freezing of crypto-related accounts a while ago and challenged the unilateral decision by the bank in the Sao Paulo Court of Justice. In the court, the bank claimed that cryptocurrencies weren’t regulated by the government and thus, they had risk of money laundering and other illegal activities.
In reply, the exchange’s counsel succeeded in defending the charges by pointing out the different mechanisms the exchange had in place for countering these concerns. The court eventually ruled in favor of Braziliex and imposed a fine on Bradesco if it did not comply. The main trial, however, is still pending.
Antitrust authority investigating suppression of crypto exchanges by banks: Brazil’s antitrust body, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), has launched an investigation into abuse of power by big banks that are allegedly suppressing the operations of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country.
A complaint was filed by Brazilian Association of Cryptomoedas and Blockchain (ABCB) after Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Itaú Unibanco, Santander Brasil, Banco Inter and Sicredi banks closed multiple accounts related to a number of cryptocurrency exchanges without following any legal procedure.
According to the notes from CADE, the banks are possibly imposing restrictions on accounts associated with cryptocurrency exchanges, causing losses to the broker.
Argentina & Peru
Peer-to-peer market crypto trading hits record high in Peru and Argentina: P2P cryptocurrency trading activity has witnessed record highs in recent times in Latin American countries of Peru and Argentina following a lowly performance back at the start of this month.
In the previous week, Argentinian Peso (ARS) and Peruvian Sol (PEN) both experienced record activities in trading pairs with Bitcoin (BTC). The fragile economic condition and global interest in cryptocurrencies are seen as the vital reasons behind this sudden increase.
Venezuela
SMS-based Dash service launched: Due to an overbearing government attitude, Dash and other privacy-centric cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly popular in the South American country. Recently, an SMS-based Dash Portfolio service was launched named Dash Text that requires no internet connection or even a smartphone for that matter.
While hyperinflation is forcing many Venezuelans to adopt cryptocurrencies in the country, the government’s attitude is making things worse as they crackdown on internet services and such. The overall situation of these services is also quite bad in the country and that is why innovative techniques like Dash Text are being adopted in the country to increase the use of cryptocurrencies.
Dash is reporting increasing growth in Latin America because of weak economic indicators and inflation in these countries.
Government banking on Petro but it remains untransferable: Despite the government’s overzealous attempts to mainstream the state cryptocurrency Petro, serious technical and organizational issues continue to hamper its development. The cryptocurrency is still non-transferable in its current form which is a fundamental requirement of any cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, the government of President Nicholas Maduro claims that the cryptocurrency will officially start circulating from 1 October; this will be a baby step towards its adoption in the global markets.
Serious issues continue to plague the cryptocurrency and will hamper its further development and adoption if they remain unresolved.
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