The Visto Shopping Center executive assured that this is a project designed for 2 years and that they want to reach the metaverse in the future.

More than 500 stores located in the San Victorino sector of Bogotá will begin to receive payments with cryptocurrencies, as a prelude to the Christmas season.

As of November 4, the premises of the Visto Shopping Center, located in San Victorino, will begin pilot tests, so that Bogota residents and visitors to the sector can make their purchases paying with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

For Angélica Leguizamón, manager of the Visto Shopping Center, this project seeks for the shopping center to be at the forefront of technology:

“Starting this season we are going to receive payments with cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin in absolutely all our commercial establishments. You can come and enjoy shopping for the best national fashion from our more than 350 manufacturer brands and pay with this new technology. We are ready to receive cryptos, thus innovating this season to improve our national industry, and continue to believe in Colombia.”

More Payment Options for the Holiday Season

Leguizamón assured that the idea of ​​this project is not only to get the 537 locals to accept and understand how payments with cryptocurrencies work but also to expand this trend. According to the executive, after starting with these businesses, they want to take the information to more than 14,400 merchants in the San Victorino sector, to make mass dissemination of this new payment method.

“Our aim is to make everyone understand what this is, to see it as a source of savings and investment, and also teach them financial intelligence because this comes hand in hand with how we make our community have the foundations of financial intelligence. to handle this tool effectively.”

The Visto Shopping Center executive assured that this is a project designed for 2 years, at which time they will be able to create the ecosystem they want, where merchants and customers know how to pay with cryptocurrencies. In addition, Leguizamón assured that the Shopping Center seeks to venture into the metaverse.

“It is a process, we are setting up the technology and everything to be able to get there, but first I need you to understand what a cryptocurrency is, what a Blockchain is, and what a chain is. It is a whole process that is not easy to understand, but once you get to know the whole subject it becomes addictive and becomes super interesting.”

Despite the advantages that crypto payments appear to offer, it is worth considering the risks of crypto payments, such as their high volatility, and issues regarding their custody. In this sense, it is best to do your own research and be prepared against the possible risks and problems.

By Audy Castaneda

The Hong Kong government aims to become a hub for crypto and FinTech.

Things are on the go. The Hong Kong government has put a spin on crypto and now wants to fully embrace it.

On October 31, the Hong Kong government issued a policy statement on the development of virtual assets in the Special Administrative Region (SAR).

The statement outlined the government’s policy and approach to developing what it called a “vibrant sector and ecosystem” for cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong. It appears to be a sea change from earlier this year when it wanted to strictly regulate crypto exchanges.

Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted that, “I deeply appreciate when policymakers engage constructively and optimistically with the people who matter the most for an industry’s direction: the customers.”

Hong Kong with Open Arms

The statement covers a number of key areas, including vision and approach. The first step was to welcome crypto businesses with open arms.

“Hong Kong is open and inclusive towards the global community of innovators involved in VA [virtual asset] business.”

In addition, it plans to establish international standard risk mitigation guardrails while promoting sustainable innovation.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will consult publicly on how to allow greater access to cryptocurrencies for retail investors. Furthermore, the government stated that it will also be open to the possibility of holding crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in its markets.

It doesn’t stop there. The Government is also open to future revisions of the property rights of the tokenized assets. In addition, it is investigating the legality of smart contracts to facilitate their development.

According to the statement, there will be a number of pilot projects. These include the issuance of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for Hong Kong Fintech Week 2022. They also mentioned green bond tokenization and an e-HKD CBDC. Financial Secretary Paul Chan had this to say:

“Our political stance on VA [virtual assets] is now clearly communicated to global markets and serves to demonstrate our commitment and determination to explore financial innovations together with the global VA community.”

Opening the Door to China?

Last week, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes hinted at a crypto hug from Hong Kong. He said the move would likely open the door for China to re-enter the markets. This is likely to spur the next bull run, he added.

“When [China] loves crypto, the bull market will come back. It will be a slow process, but the red buds are sprouting.”

Hong Kong may become a proxy testing ground for Beijing to experiment with crypto politics. Additionally, it can also serve as a conduit for Chinese money back into digital assets.

By Audy Castaneda

They pointed out that one of the main problems is the high yields that some airdrops promise. They recommended diversifying investments in wallets from different official Blockchains, such as Oasis or Polkadot.

In the latest Cryptocapital program on Capital Radio, hosted by Sergio Fernández (@Sergio_fdez_7), experts recommended that crypto holders document themselves before investing in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols, since their high returns are also accompanied by risks.

In August, Chainalysis revealed that from January to July 2022, funds stolen in cryptocurrency hacks totaled $1.9 billion, up from $1.2 billion during the same period last year, and funds stolen from DeFi protocols have seen cryptocurrency hack losses skyrocket nearly 60% in the first half of the year.

The guest panel of the crypto gathering on October 28 was made up of the following experts:

B-BLOCK (@b_block_oficial).     

SECRETO DEFI (@SecretoDefi).         

Christian Wupperman (@Christianwupp).                   

Bruno Marcial (@BRUNOCRIPTO_).

Host Sets the Scene

Cryptocapital host Sergio Fernández (@Sergio_fdez_7) argued that DeFi hacks suggest that holders have not been informed enough:

“DeFi is important within the crypto industry. It is always said that cryptos make you the owner of your own money. When did DeFi emerge? We know that Bitcoin started in 2009. What is DeFi for? Defi is basically getting a return on our money. Yield Farming is something similar. There are pros and cons.”

The panel of specialists agreed that DeFi is “total freedom”, as long as the holders have precise knowledge about the benefits and risks, although the former is greater due to the returns that can be achieved.

“With DeFi you can get returns on staking, to go one step further, you deposit coins to validate transactions on the Blockchain. Those coins have a purpose, you can also use them to make transactions, and you can use DeFi to make or take loans. A simple strategy: In Aave, for example, you deposit USDC or your trusted stablecoin and earn 3% per year, it’s something, but in a safe and simple way.”

Benefits Outweigh Risks

In late September, Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that DeFi regulation should be done “with caution”. BeInCrypto reported Powell’s warning to all regulators that, for now, the DeFi ecosystem is not big enough to threaten the fiat monetary system, but this won’t last forever.

The latest Cryptocapital panel explained that Yield Farming has become relevant in the last year, due to the constant returns of its investors or holders, who only need to provide liquidity to obtain returns with different options.

However, they recommended reviewing the actors behind the projects.

“One downside of DeFi is bad actors. People who are intentionally draining purses. It is recommended that users study and be careful not to fall into scams. Some errors are imperceptible and will only empty their wallets. There are many airdrops that promise high returns, when they actually just drain liquidity. It is better to diversify to reduce risks, such as having wallets on different Blockchains, Oasis, Polkadot, and staking on the official platform.”

By Audy Castaneda