Latam Insights: Crypto Adoption Booms in Latam Nations, Milei Bashes Socialism

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Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico are present in Chainalysis’ 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index; Argentine presidential candidate Javier Milei blames socialism for Argentina’s economic decline, and Bull Bitcoin expands to Costa Rica.

Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico Among the Countries With Most Crypto Adoption

Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico are among the 20 countries in the world where cryptocurrencies are used most, according to the Chainalysis 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index, a yearly report that seeks to estimate the countries where the most grassroots crypto adoption is located.

According to several metrics, Chainalysis estimated that India, Nigeria, and Vietnam were the three countries with the most crypto adoption in the world, as the company acknowledged that while global crypto grassroots adoption was down, it was growing in lower medium-income countries — where Gross National Income (GNI) per capita was in the $1,086–$4,255 range.

The first Latam country ranked in the report, and the only one in the top ten (ranked ninth), is Brazil, which has reported growing levels of people and companies transacting in crypto recently, according to the Brazilian tax authority, the Receita Federal. Argentina, which has registered inflation levels of over 120% and faces a devaluation crisis, ranks 15th, while Mexico trails them in 16th place.

Milei Blames Argentine Economic Decline on Statism and Socialism

Javier Milei, an Argentine presidential candidate, has blamed the economic decline of Argentina on the socialist measures enacted by prior governments and on the size of the state in the country. Milei, who won the preliminary elections in August and is expected to win the presidential elections, explained that Argentina started embracing socialism 100 years ago.

In a recent interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Milei stated:

The analogy of frogs in a pot of water is useful here. When you turn up the heat slowly, the frogs don’t realize it. Until the time comes and when they try to jump out, it’s too late and they end up dead.

Bull Bitcoin Expands to Costa Rica

The Canada-based Bull Bitcoin exchange has announced its expansion to Costa Rica, where it will integrate one of the most used payment systems, SINPE Movil, to bring Bitcoin to more people in the country. Francis Pouliot, CEO of Bull Bitcoin, explained that this move will allow foreigners and Costa Ricans to exchange bitcoin per fiat currency “without needing complicated international bank transfers and expensive foreign currency conversion.”

The exchange will offer these services through the Bitcoin Jungle Wallet, and it expects to keep expanding internationally over the next 12 months.

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