South America
Welcome to another weekly blockchain news roundup from around the world. Here, we present to you all the latest Bitcoin news, continent by continent and country by country.
Brazil
Market Experts Declare Bitcoin a big Opportunity Despite Price Tank: Many Brazilian markets have come together and selected cryptocurrencies especially Bitcoin as one of the main trends of 2019 alongside digital banks, payment systems, and data protection. The plus point for the industry is that these other sectors are also using the core blockchain technology in many applications as well.
According to Guilherme Horne, a Ph.D. holder and market expert, the cryptocurrency sector is maturing after ten years of existence and will play a big part in the digital banking industry as well. The government of Sao Paulo referred to the immense economic opportunity being presented by cryptocurrencies as a big lure for investment and innovation in a presser while experts like Ronaldo Lemos cited the development of Artificial Intelligence as the biggest attraction for investors while blockchain and cryptocurrencies will play a major role in the future as well.
Bitmain to Close South American Office in Sao Paulo: Bitmain, the world’s largest mining chip manufacturer has reportedly decided that it will be closing its office in Sao Paulo, Brazil which is responsible for operations across the continent. While Bitmain didn’t confirm this news itself, the move may not bring an end to the mining operations in the continent as the company wants to maintain its presence in one form or another.
The office was only opened in the second half of 2018 and was intended to bring the Chinese chipmaker closer to the mining industry in South America. There is a considerable surplus amount of energy in some parts of the continent and Bitmain believed that it could be used for mining purposes. The latest move isn’t indicative of Bitmain fleeing from the continent but rather restructuring efforts that are necessary for future expansion into the market.
Brazilian Military Experimenting with Blockchain-integrated Wearables: The Brazilian Industrial Development Agency (ABDI) has recently held a competition for wearables focused for military use in the country. IBM participated with a new tool built on the HyperLedger Blockchain system that could be used for Internet of Things (IoT) for the military.
Wearables and military tech are becoming one of the primary users of blockchain technology.
Exchange and Philanthropic Organization Partnering to Raise Bitcoin for Digital Empowerment: Coinext exchange in association with Recode is throwing a fundraiser for a noble cause which is the digital empowerment of youth in the country. The money will be donated in Bitcoin and Recode will use the money for social insertion of young people in the sector through digital empowerment.
The issue of digital inclusion of the underprivileged youth in the country is extremely important if Brazil wants to progress as a leader in tech.
Venezuela
Petro’s Usefulness Once Again Questioned: Despite repeated government pushes to enable the state cryptocurrency Petro, it is still increasingly becoming clear that the government lacks a clear consensus and strategy on how to take it forward. Right now, Petro is mandated for passport fees by the government while pensions are also being paid in the cryptocurrency.
Overall, when you look closely, Petro is becoming more of a myth rather than a stable monetary tool by the government. It is still non-transferable and the only Petro one can see is a government guarantee that there are certain amounts of Petros there. Venezuela’s botched attempt at creating a national cryptocurrency is becoming a cautionary tale for other countries, prompting Japan to declare the fiat-pegged currencies as not cryptocurrencies at all.
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