NFTs, payments and conferences: Crypto in Latin America in 2021
In 2021, Latin America noticed a hovering rise in crypto adoption among the many 20 international locations and 14 dependencies that make up the area.
A slew of conferences, associations, new rules and nonfungible token (NFT) tasks in addition to the worldwide bull market made final yr an intriguing one for the area.
Let’s check out a number of the most fascinating developments within the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem in Latin America in 2021.
Colombian monetary companies companion with crypto exchanges
Early in 2021, the Monetary Superintendence of Colombia licensed a number of partnerships between banking establishments licensed within the nation’s monetary system and cryptocurrency exchanges.
The 9 partnerships included main names from the cryptocurrency business reminiscent of Binance and Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’ Gemini.
The regulator mentioned that these approvals have been made inside a regulatory sandbox for testing technological options on this planet monetary market and can have a trial interval of as much as one yr.
Crypto recognition in Latin America
In 2021, the speedy progress of digital currencies led some Latin American international locations to formally acknowledge their use as a fee instrument, regardless of their fame for volatility. El Salvador’s official recognition of Bitcoin (BTC) as authorized tender — a world-first — made waves not solely in Latin America however the world over.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin Legislation was permitted by a majority vote within the nation’s consultant physique, the Legislative Meeting, and got here into impact in September.
In August 2021, Cointelegraph reported that the Central Financial institution of Cuba was anticipated to acknowledge cryptocurrencies reminiscent of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Tether (USDT) for industrial transactions and investments.
The president of the Central Reserve Financial institution of Peru, Julio Velarde, introduced in November that the nation will companion with the central banks of India, Hong Kong and Singapore to develop its personal central financial institution digital forex.
Blockchain occasions in 2021
Because of lockdowns and subsequent confinement throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many blockchain corporations and organizations reevaluated their methods and took to our on-line world to satisfy up and attend conferences.
Blockchain Summit Latam
The Blockchain Summit Latam convention is taken into account to be probably the most necessary crypto occasions in Latin America, selling the crypto and blockchain ecosystem within the area. In September 2021, its fifth version hosted 100 knowledgeable audio system from the broader ecosystem.
Over 5 days, greater than 60 digital areas hosted seminars and discussions targeted on blockchain know-how. The subjects included infrastructure and purposes, the Ibero-American ecosystem, enterprise, decentralized finance, blockchain within the conventional monetary system and extra.
LaBitConf
In November 2021, the ninth version of the Spanish-speaking Latin American Bitcoin and Blockchain Convention, also referred to as LaBitConf, was held. The convention mixed face-to-face and digital conferences, and the agenda featured greater than 150 business consultants giving greater than 40 shows on subjects reminiscent of Bitcoin mining, the way forward for exchanges in Latin America, regulation, and privateness and safety, amongst others.
Cripto Latin Fest
In December, the fourth version of Crypto Latin Fest mixed on-line and in-person conferences over two 14-hour days that includes talks and seminars with consultants within the cryptocurrency area.
Notable people from the crypto ecosystem in Latin America — reminiscent of José Rodríguez, director of Blockchain Land at Expertise Land, and Elian Huesca, neighborhood lead for Latin America at Bitso — lined subjects reminiscent of blockchain, stablecoins, cybersecurity, legality, DeFi and crypto adoption.
Blockchain Land
The large Spanish-language Blockchain Land convention — offered by the identical firm that produced Expertise Land Latinoamerica — launched for the primary time in 2020 and was broadcast concurrently within the Decentraland and Cryptovoxels metaverses.
The occasion, held in April, was one of many largest Spanish-speaking occasions and was thought of to be essentially the most modern, because it was broadcast concurrently in two digital worlds present on the Ethereum blockchain the place the customers may work together, communicate and community.
NFT growth in Latin America
Final yr, nonfungible tokens took off in Latin America and across the globe.
In September, Argentine NFT market SeSocioNFT opened up store, selling and promoting items from Latin American artists. The platform reportedly plans to adapt items created by numerous artists into NFTs in order that they’ll then be bought on {the marketplace}.
The NFT growth led to the primary digital artwork gallery in Ecuador, NFTs Exhibition UIDE hosted on the Worldwide College of Ecuador. The gallery was open from Nov. 24 till Dec. 23 and displayed round 40 works by 4 Ecuadorian artists and 15 foreigners, valued at $160 million in whole.
A collective of Venezuelan artists generally known as La Tokenia, inaugurated their NFT exhibition on the Tezos community in December.
In the meantime, in November, the Colombian authorities signed a mining contract with the Nationwide Mining Company that was registered as NFT on the Ethereum-compatible GoChain blockchain.
