Amid a major economic downturn, countries in Latin America (LATAM) are increasingly suffering from money laundering through cryptocurrencies, a new report says. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) have become a major tool of organized crime groups and hackers in LATAM countries, according to a Feb. 27 report issued by threat intelligence firm IntSights. Titled “The Dark Side of Latin America,” the report claims that LATAM countries top the list of the world’s worst money laundering nations, while local crypto-related firms apparently lack Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. To issue the report, IntSights partnered with major global blockchain …

Blockchain usage is exploding around the world. But despite the technology’s many vocal advocates, the spread of technology is never even. Adoption is limited by a number of factors, including infrastructure development, local resources and regulation. As happens with the spread of any emerging technology, certain regions are pulling ahead of the pack. Radoslav Dragov, the blockchain lead for the International Data Corporation, explained that there are a number of factors that can create favorable conditions for adoption, varying from investment to talent, adding: “Beyond these factors, blockchain investment is very much influenced by current and upcoming regulation, and the …

Rocelo Lopes, CEO of Stratum, CoinPY, and one of the leading names in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market in Latin America, is negotiating the sale of Brazilian-owned, Paraguay-registered mining farm CoinPY, once a leading crypto company in Latin America. According to exclusive information obtained by Cointelegraph, the negotiation is already advanced and the entire mining plant in Paraguay will be sold to a Chinese group that already operates similar farms in China. Chinese miners concerned about tightening regulations The group reportedly sought out Lopes for regulatory reasons, imagining a difficult scenario in China after the launch of any Chinese central …

Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar is the CEO of IOVLabs and co-founder of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina. During Labitconf 2019, he gave a presentation entitled "How Bitcoin, RSK and RIF are shaping the internet of the future." Cointelegraph spoke with him in Uruguay to learn more about the platforms that aspire to make the mass adoption of disruptive technologies possible. This interview was conducted in Spanish and translated into English. It has been lightly edited for clarity. Fernando Quirós (FQ): How did you get started in the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology? Diego Gutiérrez Zaldívar (DGZ): I was first introduced to …

International journalist and media defender of Bitcoin Max Keiser gave a presentation at Labitconf in Montevideo, Uruguay, in which he explained the impact that cryptocurrencies generate in the global scenario and particularly in the Latin American region. With a talk entitled "Why Bitcoin Matters in Emerging Markets," Keiser took the stage in his casual style, with a sports jacket and shorts, but mainly with a very critical tone towards trust money and the traditional economic and financial system. Keiser stressed that Bitcoin's first function is to clean up the mess left in the world by fiat money. One of the …

Bitmain, the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining firm, is expanding its distribution in South America by partnering with two crypto mining consulting firms. The Chinese mining mogul will extend its global exposure with Fastblock, which will be the primary distributor in Brazil, and Bit5ive, a Miami-based firm that will be distributing Antminers to over 30 countries in Latin, Central America and the Caribbean, Bitmain announced Dec. 12. Quick take on Bitmain’s new distributors Bit5ive provides major crypto mining services — sells, hosts and supports crypto mining hardware — since its foundation in 2013. The company will be distributing Bitmain’s products using …

Binance, the leading global cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and users, today announced the launch of its fiat gateway for Latin America. The announcement was made during laBitConf, a major crypto event for Latin America held in Montevideo, Uruguay. The new platform, named Latamex, will operate under the Binance Fiat Gateway and will allow Binance’s Latin American users to purchase cryptocurrency directly in association with Settle Network, a Latin American digital asset liquidation network. The new platform will initially be launched in Argentina and Brazil, allowing the direct purchase of cryptocurrencies using Argentine pesos and Brazilian reals. Users will be …

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is implementing three different blockchain pilot projects to test if blockchain technology is able to solve some of the problems of land titling and registries. On Oct. 28, blockchain startup ChromaWay reported that it is collaborating with IADB on a two-year project in Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay on an initiative called “Distributed Ledger Technology (Blockchain): The Future of Land Titling and Registry.” Chromaway, which has experience in tracking land titles in countries such as Sweden, Canada, India, and Australia, will run the pilots together with Bolivian IT services company, Jalasoft, with the intention to eventually …

A Chilean-based exchange says its goal is to deliver easy access to crypto for the Latin American community. Cripto InterCambio’s offering comes amid growing interest in the industry across the region. Confronted with ever-increasing levels of hyperinflation, Venezuelans have been embracing crypto — with record trading volumes reported as consumers abandon the bolivar. The country’s central bank has also been exploring whether or not to hold Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in its coffers, adding validity to crypto in the eyes of the public. The company says its exchange service is instantaneous and that more than 100 cryptocurrencies — including …

Ripple, the firm behind the third biggest cryptocurrency XRP, has led an investment round in Bitso, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the Spanish-speaking world. The first Mexican crypto exchange An early partner of Bitso, Ripple has led the new investment round to support the first cryptocurrency exchange in Mexico, the company officially announced on Oct. 14. As reported by crypto publication The Block, the new investment round also involves major investors including United States-based crypto exchange and wallet provider Coinbase, Jump Capital as well as existing investors such as Digital Currency Group and Pantera Capital. The amount of …

Major Slovakia-based antivirus software provider ESET has discovered a banking trojan that can steal cryptocurrencies and is especially widespread in Latin America. Primary targets Known as “Casbaneiro” or “Metamorfo,” the newly found malware family targets banks and cryptocurrency services located in Brazil and Mexico, ESET’s editorial arm WeLiveSecurity reports Oct. 3. According to the report, Casbaneiro uses a social engineering execution method, which displays fake pop-up windows misleading potential victims to enter sensitive information. The capabilities of the malware are typical of Latin American banking trojans that can take screenshots and send them to command and control server, simulate keyboard …

A subsidiary of Argentinian smart contract platform RSK has purchased Latin America’s social media giant Taringa, gaining exposure to 30 million users. RSK-powered rewards for content on Taringa IOVlabs, a startup dedicated to the development of the RSK smart contract network, is already building a crypto-powered incentivizing program for sharing content on the platform, as reported by Cointelegraph en Español on Sept. 27. Specifically, Taringa will purportedly reward users for active participation in its communities with IOVLabs’ RIF token (RIF), a crypto token operating on the RSK Smart Bitcoin platform. At press time, RIF’s market cap accounts for over $49 …