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
Uber of Brazilian aviation accepts Bitcoin as payment: A local ride-hailing service for helicopters and planes in Brazil called Flapper is now accepting Bitcoin as payment.
Through a partnership with payment company Warp Exchange, the “Uber of Brazilian aviation” is now looking to accept as much as USD 100,000 in cryptocurrency payments in 2018 alone. Warp exchange has been helping merchants accept cryptocurrencies in the country.
Flapper itself has been around for two years and over 145 aircraft are registered on it. The service is mos popular in Sao Paulo and is currently expanding its operations and adding new payment methods, including cryptocurrencies.
Revenue watchdog to tighten crypto trading: The Federal Internal Revenue Service of Brazil has decided to tighten supervision of cryptocurrency holders and traders in the country.
According to the new rules being enforced by the agency, traders and holders will be required to report a monthly statement with all the trades being executed during that timeframe. While this move is being termed high-handed by the local crypto community, the regulator hasn’t yet set a deadline for this latest order to be executed and public consultation opened on it.
No exchange has been notified of this latest move by the government as well. Reports say the authorities believe that cryptocurrency traders are evading taxes and that is why this move is being pursued.
Exchange association announces price index: The Brazilian Association of Cryptoeconomics (ABCripto) has announced the launch of a new price index system in the country to calculate the “real price” of cryptocurrencies. Most of the major cryptocurrency exchanges are in the association and it is believed that the index will eventually become a trend, something that is missing from the Brazilian market these days.
According to the president of ABCripto: “As for the index, its objective is to develop and apply a calculation methodology that results in the reference price of the performance and volume of the Bitcoin unit in reals over time. To do this, ABCripto’s proposal is to use information from the main companies that trade the BTC / BRL pair on its platforms and make the index and its history available for public use.”
Banks reopen crypto exchange accounts to avoid fines: Two banks in the country are now reopening cryptocurrency exchange accounts after they were ordered by local authorities to do so or face fines.
Banco do Brasil and Santandar Brasil banks had frozen the accounts of exchange Bitcoin Max for a while now and the Federal District court eventually came to the exchange’s aid. The court ordered the banks to reopen the accounts in a preliminary ruling or face a fine up to BRL 20,000 (USD 5,400). All frozen funds were also ordered to be made available again.
While the case is still in the courts, it is still an initial victory for the exchange that had a sizeable portion of its funds blocked by these two banks.
Venezuela
Government starts selling Petro but buyers get bonds instead of crypto: The Venezuelan government has announced that its flagship cryptocurrency Petro is now available for purchase for the public, but issues remain. The cryptocurrency investors are only getting paper bonds or certificates from the government and right now there is no evidence at all that the cryptocurrency even exists.
While Venezuelan officials and a Chinese delegate made a public show of buying the state cryptocurrency, they were given a host of login details including name, signature and fingerprints which makes no sense for a cryptocurrency. The move falls in line for a theory that Petro itself cannot be transferred at the moment.
Colombia
Dash conference held: Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Dash has recently held a cryptocurrency conference in the country especially aimed at educating users for the Dash platform. The event was attended by over 132 participants and was it was almost entirely in Spanish, the local language there.
Dash is looking to increase usage and appeal in South America as the continent embraces cryptocurrencies for a variety of reasons including inflation.
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