According to data by Coin ATM Radar, Venezuela has finally gotten its very first Bitcoin ATM. Multiple attempts to install Bitcoin ATM Venezuela’s first crypto ATM was installed on Sept. 10, in the city of San Antonio del Táchira, according to data by Coin ATM Radar, a website that facilitates the online search for the nearest Bitcoin ATM. Latin American firm Panda BTM installed the Bitcoin ATM inside a small convenience store, called Viajes e Inversiones HC. The machine supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and DASH, as well as the official currency of Venezuela and Colombian …

This week saw major expansion of crypto payments in Brazil, new standards freeing Bitcoin from Portuguese taxes, and the allegedly fraudulent Grupo Bitcoin Banco’s refusal to pay clients their deposited funds. Brazil's central bank adopts IMF guidelines Brazil’s central bank announced that it would classify cryptocurrencies according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) guidelines on Aug. 26. With the new classification under IMF standards, traded cryptocurrencies will be classified as non-financial products and as such, will be counted as goods on the central bank’s balance sheet. Cointelegraph Brasil reported that the classification of cryptocurrencies as a good is significant, as recognition …

Spanish banking giant Santander plans to expand Ripple-powered global payment solution to Latin America, a Santander spokesperson told Cointelegraph on Aug. 19. Citing rising transaction volume, Santander wants to expand Ripple’s xCurrent technology to a number of Latin American countries after first introducing the technology in Spain, Brazil, Poland and the United Kingdom in April 2018. U.S. payment corridor Specifically, the bank intends to enable zero-fee transactions from unspecified Latin American countries to the United States via a service included in banking apps called One Pay FX. To date, only customers in the U.K. and Spain can send money to …

Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Bitex has partnered with Uruguay-based financial software company Bantotal in order to expand it cross-border payments system on the Bitcoin blockchain to Latin America. CoinDesk announced the companies’ new partnership in a report on Aug. 13. According to the report, the upshot of this partnership is that Bantotal’s clients will have access to Bitex’s exchange services via a marketplace that hosts traditional financial services in its BDevelopers program. Per the report, Bitex will act as a middleman service for cross-border payments. The exchange’s role is to convert from fiat currency to BTC, and then back to fiat …

Chile-based peer-to-peer remittance company CurrencyBird has joined RippleNet, Ripple’s global blockchain-based network of payment providers, according to an announcement published on July 25. CurrencyBird has thus ostensibly become the first Chilean payments company to join RippleNet, a network of institutional payment-providers such as banks and money services businesses that use solutions developed by Ripple to send money globally. The company states in the post that the partnership will allow it to add new routes to its more than 50 already existing destinations, new currencies, better prices and faster transfer speeds. In 2018, family remittances in Latin America and the Caribbean …

Latin America’s biggest investment bank, BTG Pactual, plans to shift its security token offerings (STOs), a pipeline of over $1 billion in sales, onto the Tezos blockchain. The announcement appeared in a joint press release published on Tezos Foundation’s website on July 3. The new initiative is a collaboration between BTG Pactual and Dubai-based asset manager Dalma Capital, who plan to tokenize a number of traditional assets using the Tezos blockchain and smart contracts platform. According to the announcement, Dalma Capital is planning to use the Tezos blockchain for digitizing assets in multiple industries, including real estate, equity, lending, as …

Chinese telecommunications hardware giant Huawei is studying the entire Latin American market and considering expanding its operations, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on June 13. Per the report, a Huawei executive said at the CIAB Febraban conference on June 11 that it is possible its blockchain-enabled products and services will soon be available on the continent. The executive in question — who asked to remain anonymous — noted: “Everything will depend on the outcome of our market analysis and in case there is a market demand for blockchain we will make our services available in this area. Today we are focused on …

The vice president of Brazil's biggest bank, Bradesco, revealed that major local banks will introduce a unique blockchain platform on June 12, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on June 11. Bradesco VP Mauricio Minas has delivered a speech devoted to the role of blockchain in the global financial system, speaking at major Latin American banking and fintech event CIAB Febraban on June 11. The Bradesco VP unveiled the plans of local banking institutions to soon adopt an unnamed blockchain-powered solution, adding that a number of Brazilian banks have been developing applications using distributed ledger technology (DLT). Speaking at the event, Minas expressed …

Ripple, the firm behind third-biggest crypto by market cap XRP, has launched a Brazilian office with the aim to expand across Latin America, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on June 10. According to the report, the official announcement will be made at CIAB Febraban, a major fintech and banking event that will place in São Paulo from June 11 to June 13. The new office will be reportedly led by Luiz Antonio Sacco, former CEO at the Brazilian subsidiary of The Warranty Group, a global warranty solution provider. Having joined Ripple in March 2019, Sacco stated that the company intends to bring …

The biggest cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), has hit an all-time high versus the Argentine peso amid the ongoing decline of the currency, Financial Times (FT) reports on May 27. According to the report, the bitcoin price has soared to as high as 394,000 pesos ($8,762.95 at press time) per coin, exceeding prices versus the Argentine peso not seen since the bubble in late 2017. Bitcoin price against Argentine peso since 2017. Source: BitcoinAverage The new all-time high of bitcoin versus the peso takes place amid a crypto bull market this year, along with the ongoing depreciation of the Argentine peso against …

Latin America-based cryptocurrency startup Ripio has launched a trading platform, including an over the counter (OTC) desk, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 16. Ripio’s newly launched platform will enable its customers in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico to trade cryptocurrency to fiat, use digital banking services, and request blockchain-based loans. The product also includes an OTC desk for institutional investors. Commenting on the product roll out, Ripio’s founder and CEO Sebastian Serrano said that “cryptocurrency, and our new platform in particular, offers brand-new investment horizons for all segments of the population. This is especially important in …

Argentina has settled an export deal with Paraguay in Bitcoin (BTC), Cointelegraph en Español reported on Thursday, Feb. 14. In a reported first for both countries, Paraguay has bought pesticides and fumigation products worth $7,100 from Argentina, using cryptocurrency to settle the deal. The purchase was paid for in BTC and then converted into Argentine peso to settle accounts with the exporter of the agricultural chemicals. To proceed with the payments, Argentina applied to Bitex — a Latin American financial services provider that supports Bitcoin payments. According to the chief marketing office of Bitex, Manuel Beaudroit, the company is a …