The deputy considers that the application of the current regulatory sandbox is what the banks want. Consultant Juan Llanos said the industry grew fast, but regulators fell asleep at the wheel.

Mauricio Toro, from the Colombian House of Representatives, recently said that banks seek to control the use of cryptocurrencies. He believes that that activity is facing tax and legal barriers created by the State.

The deputy expressed his position to the consultant Juan Llanos and the researcher from Brussels University Andrés Chomczyk. The legislator stated that Colombian banks have enormous power, and everything is going into their hands.

Concerning regulations on cryptocurrencies, Toro believes that the banking sector is seeking to gain influence in decision-making. He expressed that they want to bank a system opposite to traditional banking.

The Use of Cryptocurrencies in Colombia

Although cryptocurrency trading is an emerging economic activity, it has gained strength in Colombia. In this sense, the legislator noted that Colombia is the second Latin American country regarding the adoption rate. In addition, he said that it is one of the first seven in the ranking in that area worldwide.

The daily reality of Colombia also reflects that growing interest in the use of crypto assets. Toro stated that 680 retailers accept payments with cryptocurrencies and considers that they should be free to conduct those operations.

Many people operate on platforms outside of Colombia, so the country misses receiving a lot of money. He believes that the State should not pose obstacles since they keep investment away and close the possibilities for choosing where and how to invest.

As a positive aspect of the crypto assets debate, Toro noted that banks want to understand how cryptocurrencies work. The message of the entry into force of the Bitcoin Law in El Salvador may reach Colombia, he said. Colombian banks Davivienda, Banco de Colombia, and Banco de Bogotá account for 65% of the market in the Central American country.

Toro Introduces a Bill to Regulate Cryptocurrencies

Besides defending cryptocurrencies and the right to access them, Toro submitted a bill to regulate them. He seeks to enable cryptocurrency exchanges with the due registration and requirements and regulated fees.

The legislator believes that they must conduct their operations freely and safely, protecting users. In that way, they could face the existing economic reality, Toro explained.

However, the deputy said that a presidential order does not allow his bill to advance. On August 3^rd, 2021, Toro announced the reintroduction of his proposal before the Colombian House of Representatives. They postponed the debate for a year to wait for a decision by the Financial Superintendence of Colombia.

A regulatory sandbox currently establishes that exchanges must associate with a bank to operate, among other measures. Before its approval, banks strongly opposed that testing space, Toro said.

The legislator said that financial institutions had closed the accounts of exchanges, making their operations more difficult. He added that the application of the current sandbox is the one that banks want even though they had not thought so.

The Viewpoints of Llanos and Chomczyk

Juan Llanos and Andrés Chomczyk agreed that the regulation of cryptocurrencies is expensive but valuable. They believe that there are many scams and risks today.

Llanos said the industry grew fast, but regulators fell asleep at the wheel and were slow to see its power. Regarding El Salvador, he said that the speed of the implementation of the Bitcoin Law surprised him. However, he stressed that Bukele was brave and innovative but that there would be reactions and consequences.

Chomczyk said that the laws relating to the digital economy in Europe are increasingly complex, but their intellectual height is remarkable. As for what is happening in El Salvador, he was skeptical and said that it is necessary to wait for the consequences in practice.

By Alexander Salazar

In El Salvador, polls warn of the rejection of the Bitcoin Law among the population. Venezuela has its first developer awarded a grant for development in Bitcoin.

All eyes were on El Salvador this week, with a date marked on the calendar: Tuesday, September 7, when the law that would bring legal tender to bitcoin in the Central American country came into force.

And while the country prepared for the adoption of the cryptocurrency, polls established that most Salvadorans do not agree with the measure of the National Government.

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In countries like Mexico, various news appeared, such as the sanctions to an alleged Ponzi scheme that uses bitcoin or the cases of extortion and kidnapping of migrants where criminals asked for payments with cryptocurrencies.

Last week there was also news about bitcoin in nations like Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela.

The Situation in Argentina

The southernmost country on the American continent has a very compacted exchange control built into its economy. And this control could face new risks due to the use of cryptocurrencies, according to statements by the president of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA), Miguel Pesce.

During a meeting led by the Argentine Chamber of Fintech, the executive clarified that Argentines could use cryptocurrencies to purchase products and services. But the BCRA would make sure cryptocurrencies are not a tool to disrupt exchange laws.

In Chile, this week,  there was an announcement about a charity campaign with bitcoin (BTC) that managed to raise more than 8,700 dollars to equip children with sports equipment.

The campaign got organized back then by the charity BitGive and the NGO Desafío Chile. It comes from 2018, but after various disruptions and obstacles, it achieved its current goal.

The crypto world now focused its interest on El Salvador, where this Tuesday, September 7, the Bitcoin Law came into effect.

Among the preparations for the event, the Salvadoran government launched the very first images of its Chivo Wallet and presented the first publicity spot on the cryptocurrency created by a government in the world.

Meanwhile in Venezuela

In Venezuela, the Superintendency of Crypto Assets and Related Activities (SUNACRIP) has now focused its efforts on the fight against money laundering with cryptocurrencies in the country.

The organization signed an agreement with the National Office Against Organized Crime and Terrorism Financing, which is part of the Ministry of the Interior, for this purpose.

In terms of development, a milestone got reached for the South American country this week. Software engineer Francisco Calderón received a grant due to contributions in developing the RGB side chain; this is an open-source project intended to work with smart contracts for the Bitcoin network.

Mexico Seems to be Concerned

This week, Mexico expressed the concern of the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) regarding the use of cryptocurrencies in extortion and kidnapping of migrants passing through the North American country bound for the United States of America.

The Mexican Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) sanctioned and ordered the cessation of operations with investments to Xifra. Xifra is an alleged investment system that uses bitcoin and offers monthly returns to its participants.

Xifra received accusations by users of being a Ponzi scheme, and its network does not allow new users to enter without referrals

By: Jenson Nuñez

It is unknown whether the purchase happened through the central bank or the presidency. At the current price of BTC, the government would have set an investment of more than $ 10 million.

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, revealed during the afternoon of September 6 that his nation purchased 200 bitcoins (BTC). The president assured it is the first of many acquisitions the country will make in the next few hours or days, to invest in the first cryptocurrency.

The president announced through his Twitter account that El Salvador has just bought its first 200 coins. Their brokers will acquire many more as the #BitcoinDay #BTC deadline approaches.

The mechanism that the country used to buy its bitcoins remains unknown. It is also unknown if the nation approached exchanges, over-the-counter (OTC), or other exchange platforms.

There is no further report about whether the investment happened through the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador or was an investment made directly from the presidency. At the current price of BTC, the government would have spent more than 10 million dollars for the 200 cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin is Now Legal Tender

Bukele’s announcement has come a day before El Salvador consolidates the prime execution of the so-called Bitcoin Law. As of this Tuesday, September 7, the Salvadoran State will become the first nation in the world to recognize BTC as legal tender, along with the United States of America dollar.

Its acceptance in commercial establishments will now be mandatory, applying some relevant exceptions, and the dollar will remain the first unit in consideration. Users and businesses will have the option of keeping their BTC or converting those currencies into dollars.

According to Buy Bitcoin Worldwide records, El Salvador joins  Bulgaria and Ukraine as the first bitcoin holding countries. However, the latter two cases are going through a series of seizures from “criminal organizations” in Bulgaria, and positions in BTC of its public officials, regarding Ukraine.

El Salvador had generated a media stir three months ago when the country briefly announced that it would set a strong adoption of bitcoin as legal tender. The Legislative Assembly expressly approved the Bitcoin Law to get executed, which will come into effect this week.

During the Bitcoin 2021 conference, a video of the Salvadoran president giving the news received a projection. He said he would send a bill to Congress to make bitcoin a legal tender in El Salvador.

The president assured it would help generate jobs and create financial inclusion for thousands of unbanked people in the South American country.

The video received its projection during a speech led by the founder of the payment application Strike, Jack Mallers, at the conference. Mallers revealed part of the text included in the bill, reflecting the concern that exists in the nation about the money issuance measures promoted by central banks.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The companies in the cryptocurrency industry listed on stock exchanges represent a value close to USD 100 billion. While the Ethereum cryptocurrency Ether (ETH) approached its all-time high of USD 4,362, Bitcoin has remained around USD 50,000.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) reached a 13.4% appreciation in August, completing two consecutive months of a rally. The pioneering cryptocurrency has advanced by 35% in the last two months and is now trying to break the psychological barrier of USD 50,000.

Reports from various cryptocurrency market analytics firms agree that investors are preparing for a rise in prices.

Concerning Bitcoin and Ethereum’s cryptocurrency Ether (ETH), there is a growing decline in the transfer of young coins, according to Glassnode. That behavior could mean an increase in the accumulation of those cryptocurrencies.

Daily Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions have declined by 37% and 27%, respectively, the report states. In the case of fees, the two networks show opposite behaviors. Their cost has risen on Ethereum due to the momentum of non-fungible tokens (NFT), while it has decreased on Bitcoin.

The Price of Bitcoin Heads for USD 60,000

Renowned analyst Willy Woo recently said that new data points to a consolidation of the price of Bitcoin around USD 50,000. A clear breakout from that level could allow the value of the cryptocurrency to reach USD 60,000, he noted.

The market expects the current cycle of Bitcoin to end this year, but Woo stated that the cryptocurrency would continue to rise in 2022. If that prediction comes true, there would be a break of the 4-year cycle pattern in the evolution of the price of Bitcoin.

In his last newsletter, Woo highlighted that the price of Bitcoin could experience a new rise sooner than expected. The analyst said that the expected price action would be a bullish breakout preceding a significant movement towards USD 60,000.

The Value of Companies in the Cryptocurrency Industry Almost Reaches USD 100,000 Million

Companies in the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency industry listed on stock exchanges represent USD 94,547 million. Those firms include mining farms, exchange platforms, and manufacturers of mining equipment and specialized hardware devices.

Coinbase, Marathon, Silvergate, Canaan, Ebang, and Northern Data are some of the best-known Bitcoin companies. After going public on Nasdaq in April, the first has a market capitalization of about USD 72.4 billion.

The Long-awaited All-Time Highs for BTC and ETH

In the last week, the price of BTC moved around USD 50,000, while that of ETH again exceeded USD 4,000. In that way, the Ethereum cryptocurrency approached the all-time high of USD 4,362 it reached on May 12^th. For its part, BTC is further away from the long-awaited goal of USD 64,656. Before hitting a new all-time high, it must exceed USD 53,000to then reach above USD 1 trillion in market capitalization.

Comparing Ethereum’s Performance to Bitcoin’s

Bitcoin still dominates the cryptocurrency market regarding its market capitalization. However, Ethereum has grown through decentralized finance (DeFi) apps and non-fungible tokens (NFT).

The growth of DeFi and NFTs suggests that the total locked value on DeFi platforms could reach USD 100 billion. At the same time, the amounts in different apps have risen to 7.8 million ETH and 202,700 BTC, including wBTC.

By Alexander Salazar

In recent days, the price of Ether briefly exceeded USD 4,000 as the weekend was approaching. The Bitcoin network has also been experiencing bullish sentiment as it exceeded USD 50,000.

The market capitalization of Bitcoin (BTC) has dominated the cryptocurrency market since its inception, but its dominance has dropped. This year, Ether (ETH) has appreciated by 404%, compared to a 121% appreciation of BTC.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market, briefly exceeded USD 4,000, rising by about 20% in the last week. During that same period, the price of Bitcoin saw a 2% increase, reaching more than USD 50,000. Furthermore, technical charts suggest that ETH could continue to rally towards the all-time high of around USD 4,300.

In August, the Ethereum network went through the long-awaited update known as the London fork. That event contributed to the price breaking above USD 2,900.

The cryptocurrency is trading at around USD 3,915 and has posted a growth of 21.1% in the last seven days. While Bitcoin exceeded USD 51,600, Ethereum had not touched those levels since May.

Vitalik Buterin Offers Dogecoin the Ethereum Code

Ethereum CEO Buterin has proposed that Dogecoin moves to the proof-of-stake algorithm. In that way, it dispenses with miners, and the holders of digital currencies are the ones who maintain its operation. That method consumes much less power than the proof-of-work algorithm.

The executive joined the Dogecoin Foundation as an advisor in mid-August. Through Twitter, he suggested that the Dogecoin system use the source code of Ethereum as the foundation for its reform.

Buterin said that he expected DOGE to switch to PoS soon, probably using the Ethereum code. He also wants the annual PoW emission of 5b/year not to stop but to go to some DAO that finances global public goods.

In 2016, Buterin invested USD 25,000 in DOGE, making more than USD 4 million in profit thanks to the tweets of Elon Musk.

Those comments suggest that Buterin is looking at Dogecoin very seriously. For a cryptocurrency ridiculed as a joke and a meme, that is more critical now than ever. That is especially true since personalities like Elon Musk are taking the development front seriously.

Decentralized Exchange Uniswap’s Developers Target the SEC

Another case of regulatory rejection is that of DeFi company Uniswap, which the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating.

According to The Wall Street Journal, people familiar with the matter said the agency is investigating investors who use the decentralized exchange. They want to find out how the users of that platform trade and conduct their operations.

The investigation is in its early stages and may not yet lead to formal prosecution.

The adoption of DeFi in the US has skyrocketed in the last year. For that reason, US regulators have begun to show their interest in regulating that space. In August, SEC chairman Gary Gensler stated that the regulatory agency could control DeFi projects. He was referring to those that reward participants with valuable tokens or similar incentives.

By Alexander Salazar