Bitcoin in Spanish is the weekly newsletter of CriptoNoticias in which we review the most important facts related to bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchains in the Hispanic world.
Already almost closing the month of February, the information in the Spanish-speaking environment has been mainly linked to the regulatory activity of governments, along with the capture of people accused of promoting cryptocurrency scams. Something that happened particularly in Argentina and Spain.
During the week, attention was drawn to the Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s response, to a bill in the United States that he considered intrusive to the sovereignty of the Central American country. They also highlighted the information regarding the installation of ATMs and the implementation of new services with cryptocurrencies.
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To go to the detail of the news of each Spanish-speaking country during the past week, we leave you the most recent Bitcoin in Spanish:
Argentina
Bitcoin mining with renewable energy would be establishing itself in Latin America through a project in the Province of Chaco, which plans to use solar energy to process transactions on the network. Meanwhile, to combat the forest fires that plague the province of Corrientes they are accepting bitcoin donations.
An arrest warrant against Leonardo Cositorto, promoter of the Zoe Cash token and CEO of Generación ZOE, was issued by the Córdoba province prosecutor’s office. The defendant is charged, along with 8 other people, for being linked to the investment organization accused of operating under a pyramid scheme.
In government matters, the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, reiterated the intention of strengthen the cryptocurrency tax system. He wants to toughen the current tax system so that no Argentine who has bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies can evade them. All this, within the framework of a greater indebtedness of the Argentine government with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Colombia
A Bloomberg report indicates that new investments will be made in Colombia by 2022 in the area of cryptocurrencies. Advances towards the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the South American country could be attracting this flow of new investorsmainly related to the ATM category.
Specifically, it highlights the interest of the Spanish company BitBase, which will allocate a budget of 300,000 euros for the installation of bitcoin ATMs and physical stores in Colombia by 2022.
Meanwhile, the candidates for senators in the elections for the Colombian Congress, which will take place on March 13, explained their plans for the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem in case they are elected.
Edward Rodríguez, congressman and candidate for the Democratic Center party; and Didier Carrillo, from the Colombia Justa Libre and Mira Coalition agreed on the need to create a non-punitive regulatory frameworkwhich facilitates the development of the sector.
Chile
Bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, and dogecoin (DOGE) were the means of payment used to pay for a property in the south of Chile.
The property is located near the ski slopes of the Llaima volcano and the Conguillío National Park, in the city of Temuco. It is known that in the area there are lands with values that are estimated between 20 and 60 million Chilean pesos, which represents between 0.6 and 1.8 BTCat the current market price, according to the CriptoNoticias price index.
Costa Rica
The Costa Rican ecosystem is back in the news this week thanks to the installation of its sixth bitcoin ATM. Team is active in the establishment of the G24 gas station, in Guachipelín de Escazú (San José) and is owned by Edenia Sistemas Edenia Internacional, the company that manages this equipment in Costa Rica.
The initiative was taken by the management of the convenience store chain Delimart, which has considered placing several cashiers in some of its 15 stores all located in the capital. Flavia Loeb, general manager of the store, commented that, at the moment, the team is only available to acquire bitcoin.
The Savior
The adoption of bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender continues to generate controversy. Three US senators introduced an initiative this week, which proposes creating a law that addresses the alleged risks to the US of the adoption of cryptocurrency in the country.
The proposal received angry reactions by the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, on the social network Twitter. “We are not your neighborhood, nor your backyard, nor your front yard,” Bukele tweeted, confronting the giant from the north. In this context, journalists based in El Salvador, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert, announced the creation of an investment fund focused on companies that develop new advances for the Bitcoin economy.
For its part, Athena Bitcoin, the company in charge of developing the Chivo Wallet and manufacturing cryptocurrency ATMs for El Salvador, sued its former chief technology officer, Sean Overton, for allegedly sabotaging business relationships that the company held with the Salvadoran government.
Precisely from this government, a statement was issued to alert the population about a false promotion launched on social networks aimed at users of the Chivo Wallet, which promises USD 50 in exchange for answering the questions of a survey.
Spain
The approval, by the Bank of Spain, of the company Bit2Me as a exchange authorized to operate with bitcoin It was prominent news in the European nation. The fact occurs after a registry for companies in the industry began in 2021.
With this permission Bit2Me becomes the first cryptocurrency trading company which will function in a regulated manner in Spain. Meanwhile, another supervisory body, the National Securities Commission (CNMV), issued an alert to the public reminding that they do not sell or auction bitcoin. Apparently a group of scammers is impersonating this entity through phone calls offering the sale of BTC.
For its part, the Treasury Office invites projects related to blockchains to register in the regulatory sandbox from next March 1. The call is to participate in the third call of the sandbox, which has made two calls so far since its inception in 2020.
The Civil Guard captured 8 people who were being investigated for alleged money laundering and fraud. They explain that the detainees were part of a gang that was dedicated to laundering money for other criminal organizations using cryptocurrencies.
The arrests were made in the framework of the MAUNA operation, through which “the total dismantling of the criminal organization based in Madrid” was achieved.
Mexico
More than 100 cryptocurrencies that are listed on Coinbase can be exchanged for Mexican pesos or kept in the recipient’s digital wallet. This is possible by a new scheme developed by the exchange to facilitate the sending of remittances from the US to Mexico.
Through the Coinbase app, the recipient of the cryptocurrencies will generate a redemption code that will allow you to make the withdrawal at 37,000 authorized points in physical retail stores and convenience stores located throughout the Mexican territory.
On the other hand, the businessman and considered the third wealthiest man in Mexico, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, expressed his interest in venturing into Bitcoin mining.
Salinas commented on Twitter that he is interested in investing in mining using geothermal energy. Grupo Salinas manages the Domo de San Pedro Geothermal Power Plant, located in the state of Nayarit, in eastern Mexico. Similar to mining operations in El Salvador, this plant generates electricity from a volcanic deposit present in the region.
Venezuela
The Spanish company BitBase is in talks with Venezuelan government authorities, private companies and banks for the installation of bitcoin ATMs and stores in the territory.
According to the evaluation of several analysts, the new regulations decreed by the Venezuelan government could stop the relief that the overcoming of the hyperinflation stage of the country’s economy has meant. However, the experts they do not believe that the recovery is sustainable over time and that could encourage the use of bitcoin.
Likewise, with more than four years in the market, the petro circulates in the Venezuelan economy without a clear direction. The most recent report published in CriptoNoticias, despite the fact that it has not disappeared from the financial system, the petro is largely overshadowed by other forms of payment that cohabit in the daily life of the Venezuelan.
The bolívar as the national currency is the most widespread method of payment throughout the Caribbean country, while the dollar is the most used currency in the territory and is a currency that enjoys great prestige in internal trade.
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:
Wednesday, February 23: «Web3 Analytics», organized by Web3 Latam.
Wednesday, February 23: «NFT´s», an event organized by Web3 Latam.
Thursday, February 24: «Decentralab», an event organized by Web3 Latam.
Thursday, February 24: «Crypto Meetup Buenos Aires», by Buenbit and Ledger.
Businesses that accept cryptocurrencies in Spanish-speaking countries
The Seventy Crepes (restaurant in Bogota, Colombia)
crypto jeans (jeans factory in Colombia).
Native Bamboo (Hotel located in La Montañita, Ecuador).
La Manuela Tattoo (tattoo studio in Madrid, Spain).
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 editor@cryptonoticias.com. We will inform about the adoption of cryptocurrencies of that business in some of the Spanish-speaking countries.
