Peru Might Become the Latin American Country with the Highest Adoption of Bitcoin

Alexander Salazar
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Peru Might Become the Latin American Country with the Highest Adoption of Bitcoin

Over 60% of Peruvians are enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies and are interested in buying Bitcoin and other crypto assets. The highest level of adoption in the Caribbean is in Haiti, where more than 107,000 citizens own crypto assets.

Since enthusiasm about cryptocurrencies has recently grown among Peruvians, over 60% are interested in Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto assets. If the South American country reaches that adoption level, it could climb the ranking of territories with the highest acceptance in the region.

More than 1.2 million people in Peru have cryptocurrencies, equivalent to at least 3.74% of the population. However, the trend of those figures may change radically this year, considering the high interest from residents in crypto assets.

The Spanish American country has recorded an 18.3% increase in the use of cryptocurrency wallets since 2020. Meanwhile, the trading volume on the Buda exchange has grown by 613% over the last six months.

The above figures show that Peru will likely become one of the countries in the region with the highest cryptocurrency adoption this year. It could escalate to the leadership positions currently held by Venezuela and Colombia, where over 6% of the population own crypto assets.

Besides the cryptocurrency boom in Peru, there is an initiative of the city hall of La Molina in Lima. They are implementing the MoliCoin program to promote payments in BTC and other cryptocurrencies among businesses.

According to a statement from the city hall, that initiative would provide answers on how a business can take payments in cryptocurrencies. They also said it would deal with choosing a wallet, using it correctly, and giving various advice.

The current high interest from Peruvians in Bitcoin has led the government to advance in creating its central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Peru is also moving toward regulating Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by introducing a bill in the Peruvian Congress. With it, the government seeks to provide a legal framework for the crypto asset market.

Haiti Is the Caribbean Country with the Highest Cryptocurrency Adoption

More than 107,000 Haitian citizens own cryptocurrencies, a figure equivalent to 1% of the population. That makes Haiti one of the countries with the highest number of users in the Caribbean.

Seven other Caribbean countries follow Haiti in the ranking of cryptocurrency adoption. They included Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Bahamas, Belize, and Barbados.

It is not coincidental that Haiti leads the countries with the most cryptocurrency users in the Caribbean. On the contrary, it can be due to the high volume of remittances sent and received.

Haiti and Jamaica have a remittance percentage of over 23% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For that reason, they now have the highest number of cryptocurrency users in the Caribbean.

Remittance senders usually pay high fees for each transfer through various intermediary companies. That leads to thinking that many users turn to cryptocurrencies to send funds with lower fee costs.

Between October 2019 and April 2020, monthly remittances to Latin American countries from the United States were around USD 100 million. However, between April and May 2021, they increased to about USD 400 million per month.

Bitcoin is trading at around USD 40,356 and has accumulated a 1.7% loss over the last 24 hours. Its daily trading volume is above USD 31.69 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 762.25 billion, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

A Town in Argentina is Turning to Cryptocurrency Mining for Funding

Jenson Nunez
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A Town in Argentina is Turning to Cryptocurrency Mining for Funding

The commune of Serodino, based on the department of Iriondo, will start mining digital assets as part of a project encouraged by the public and private sectors of the South American country.

With less than 6,000 citizens residing in the area, Serodino, in the Province of Santa Fe, has opted for exploring mining activities as an alternative method to strengthen the financial system in the face of the economic crisis that the country is currently facing. According to local media outlets, the president of the town, Juan Pío Drovetta, revealed the details of the project this week.

In an interview for Radio Dos, Drovetta revealed that the crypto mining proposal arrived in a series of debates with the “kids from the commune” about alternative ways of financing for the region. Based 50 kilometers from Rosario, the town has been going through financial struggles due to the increasing inflation of the national asset.

Drovetta highlighted that they have been working hard and doing the proper research on this financial activity, which is very broad and has pretty innovative features to evolve, improve the knowledge, and increase the economic development.

A Whole New Crypto Mining Center Located in Argentina

The communal chief confirmed to the news media that citizens residing in Serodino had shown good stances about the plans. Drovetta said he raised this Information above all with local SME entrepreneurs. People seemed to react well; some of the entrepreneurs supporting the project previously knew the matter.

Drovetta also added that the surprise they had was that two of the people in business who gladly supported the project knew what was about to happen. Cryptocurrency mining operations will start as an initiative linked to the project jointly created by the private and public sectors. Both have pooled resources to acquire the proper equipment to carry out this activity.

Get to know new Information Regarding the Bitfarms Mining Mega-farm

According to the media, the facility will initially count on at least six video cards participating in a crypto mining team. Although no details got revealed about the mining devices or the digital assets that they will get to mine, the commune president highlighted that they hope to gather at least 50,000 or even 70,000 Argentine pesos monthly from this activity.

The municipality has zero intentions to keep the crypto assets since the primary strategy is to exchange the gathered incomes for Argentine pesos. In general, Drovetta, who did not come across as particularly expert on the subject, was optimistic about the project. “This is a crypto generation. Here you always win,” he said, noting that the project had zero interest in speculative operations.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Coinbase Stops Services in India over Payment Provider Issues Shortly After Release

Jenson Nunez
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Coinbase Stops Services in India over Payment Provider Issues Shortly After Release

The US exchange stopped some payment services on its newly released Indian exchange due to problems with UPI, a popular payment system in the country.

The famous cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has had to obstruct payment services via the United Payments Interface (UPI) on its network for customers residing in India.

UPI or Unified Payments Interface is a well-known instant payment method based on real-time activities that activate peer-to-peer and retail operations. UPI is also the payment method managed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), making purchase orders on Coinbase features in India easier for customers.

On the other hand, the NPCI is a particular branch of the Reserve Bank of India which gives news about the Situation to the Ministry of Finance.

The exchange applied some updates on its payment procedure information located on its website. It urges Indian users to look for other ways to use the Immediate Payment Service (IMP) to place sales orders.

Looking for New Ways

Financial news outlet Business Standard highlighted that Coinbase would work to solve the Situation in India with the proper regulators and focus on working with NPCI and other essential entities to make sure they get synchronized with local expectations and standards compliance.

The NPCI expressed that it is impossible for the entity to acknowledge the stance of any crypto exchange applying RBI’s United Payments Interface (UPI), even after Coinbase revealed the release of its services with UPI.

According to various media outlets’ reports, UPI expressed that they are unaware of activities like acquiring digital assets applying UPI, the National Payments Corporation of India.

On the other hand, Coinbase expressed that it was trying various payment procedures, one of which was UPI. The exchange focused on carrying out its activities with NPCI and other relevant authorities to ensure they got synchronized with expectations. According to the media, Indian Coinbase users do not show anger about the sudden obstruction of the service.

How Vital is UPI

In the launch a few days ago, Surojit Chatterjee, Chief Product Officer of Coinbase, said that using UPI would be the first step for citizens of India who want to buy crypto on their platform. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also stated that India had indicated a massive willingness with UPI.

The regulatory Situation in India remains unclear. The 30% tax on crypto transactions was very problematic this year. In addition, there are new policies applying to crypto advertising.

Last year, Coinbase highlighted that it was executing a hiring strategy for a technological center that it had founded in India. It was opening vacancies in which it brought programmers a single payment of USD 1,000 in digital assets.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Bank of Spain Reports when Banks Can Block a Transfer to Purchase Digital Assets

Jenson Nunez
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Bank of Spain Reports when Banks Can Block a Transfer to Purchase Digital Assets

The central bank of Spain again warned on its blog that banks could obstruct a transfer to acquire crypto in certain circumstances.

The Bank of Spain has been quite solid regarding digital assets, a stance that has become firm. The bank’s arguments get always linked to the security and protection of its customers.

Both the institution and its spokespersons have revealed various warnings recently. The bank’s deputy governor, Margarita Delgado, highlighted that 12% of the adult Spanish population had cryptocurrencies but expressed that their constant and prolonged use could bring different risks for these investors; this information got highlighted by Margarita two weeks ago.

Before this news from Margarita, the bank governor, Pablo Hernández de Cos, expressed that the bank’s exposure to digital assets would elevate the suspicious situations and risks.

A particular warning appears on the bank’s blog: it focuses on clarifying the role that banks have when they get used as a means of buying digital assets by transfer and when they must prevent transactions from being carried out.

The Warning the Bank of Spain Made

The Bank of Spain revealed in the statement that entitled entities could block a transference to purchase digital currencies. This statement explains that there are situations in which a commercial bank must take part in the operation to acquire crypto.

In some situations, attempts to purchase digital assets on an investment platform by sending a transfer from a bank cannot reach completion because the entity has obstructed the transferences on said platform.

The Spanish and European financial supervisors have recently revealed a warning about investing in cryptocurrencies. They clarified that they don’t fit most retail consumers’ expectations, nor as a means of payment or exchange to carry out financial activities with crypto.

Reasons for a Block

First of all, a blockage might occur if the financial entity has suspicions that an identity theft with credential theft is taking place. There are constant fraud cases in which malicious access occurs to the clients’ accounts of an entity after having extracted their passwords from the client.

Always Inform

When an entity adopts a necessary measure to comply with money laundering regulations that involve restrictions on operations led by clients, it must report these operations.

According to the agency, when this type of restrictive procedure gets applied to operations, it should work with a certain degree of flexibility, considering the particular circumstances of each specific situation.

The statement is, in some way, a safeguard for those who use banks to carry out crypto activities linked to transactions since it is clear that they don’t face a ban and that they are only temporarily obstructed due to suspicious situations.

By: Jenson Nuñez

New York Senate Approved the Evacuation of Crypto Companies

Jenson Nunez
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New York Senate Approved the Evacuation of Crypto Companies

NYDFS is the entity that monitors New York State’s historic virtual currency license, named the BitLicense.

The State Senate based in New York City is working hard to authorize the state Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to supervise the crypto environment.

The New York Senate approved its budget for the fiscal year 2023, which includes a rule that assigns the NYDFS the task of creating a new “assessment” for the digital currency entities it oversees. This way, it intends to align its supervision mandate in digital assets with how the regulator monitors more traditional entities and financial services companies.

According to the revised budget, the assessment intends to cover all operating expenses, according to outlets like Coindesk. It only wants to cover the costs directly linked to the supervision of crypto-oriented entities.

The expenses of each examination of the regulated user under this chapter who gets into the virtual currency business shall get paid by the regulated person. But the superintendent, after getting authorized by the comptroller, may remit such charges.

The MIT license

NYDFS supervises the most prominent cryptocurrency regulation in the US through its virtual currency licensing regime. Businesses expecting to bring New York citizens access to trading or housing services must acquire a BitLicense before setting up business activity.

In a statement, NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris highlighted the budget would strengthen the state’s economy and develop a more solid system within the city.

“The budget also allowed the new authority to charge oversight costs for licensed virtual currency businesses, as the Department already does for traditional financial systems and insurance companies.

New York was the first region to supervise digital assets entities and keeps attracting the most licensees and crypto startup funding of any kind in the nation.

The New Budget Provisions will become active in at least two Months

There are other problems related to cryptocurrencies that New York lawmakers are debating. In particular, last March, a rule that seeks to curb proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrency mining operations such as Bitcoin throughout the state got revealed.

What about this New Rule?

The new bill included crypto mining powered by non-metered and non-renewable energy sources. Its approval would instantly stop the issuance of new authorizations for mining activities until the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) can determine how significant the impact is on the environment.

The updated order of the bill, which got reported by The Block, requests a moratorium on new authorizations for facilities that carry out their activities with carbon-based fuel to execute PoW mining activities with unmetered energy.

The bill doesn’t allow the renewal of permits in cases where there is an increase in the amount of energy consumed. It effectively stops operations for two years at current levels, except for those using renewable energy sources.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Seven Times Bitcoin Miners Made the World a Better Place

Audy Castañeda
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Seven Times Bitcoin Miners Made the World a Better Place

BTC mining and the miners themselves appear to be doing more than just securing the Bitcoin network.

What do a swimming pool, beef jerky, a caravan, wood, animal waste, a Guatemalan lake, and a high school have in common? Bitcoin (BTC) mining has saved all of them. From reusing “waste” heat to get work done, to receiving a blast of cold air to dehydrate meat, to cleaning up contaminants, Bitcoin mining does more than just secure the network.

Here is a rundown of seven times Bitcoin mining lent a helping hand or just made the world a better place.

Free Bitcoin Mining Education in Washington

Sustainable Bitcoin mining company Merkle Standard has taken Bitcoin mining education into its own hands. In partnership with Bitmain, they recently gifted the latest Bitcoin mining technology to Newport High School, a high school in Washington State.

They donated $10,000. Additionally, they are promoting Bitcoin education in hopes that they will “plant a seed that will foster a lifelong interest in Blockchain and digital mining.”

Adam Delderfield, director of business development at Bitmain – the holding company for Bitcoin miners Antminer – told Cointelegraph: “Digital currency mining revenue from this giveaway will go directly to education,” adding that “mining Bitcoin and proof-of-work represent an exciting new industry that opens up numerous new opportunities.”

Bitcoin Miner Beef Jerky Cooked by the Business Cat Chef

The Bitcoiner Business Cat, who wishes to remain anonymous, uses the heat given off by mining Bitcoin to dry the meat and turn it into beef jerky. Bitcoin miners have an excess supply of hot, dry air,” they told Cointelegraph, so it makes sense to channel that heat over strips of meat to make jerky.

Like Merkle Standard, for Business Cat, the jerky cooking process is not about making money: “My regular food dehydrator uses a lot less energy than an S9, but hashpower dehydrated jerky just tastes better.”

Bitcoin Heat my Pool

Bitcoin enthusiast Jonathan Yuan found a cheaper, faster, and more stable way to heat his swimming pool in Minnesota, all thanks to Bitcoin mining.

Thanks to immersion heating, Bitcoin now feeds your pool. Although Yuan does not like to swim, his children are happy to swim in the pool while he secures the Bitcoin network.

Has the Propane Gas Tank Heater Failed? Bitcoin Miner to the Rescue!

Michael Schmid is a very well-traveled and knowledgeable Bitcoiner. When his camper’s propane gas heater broke down, he re-equipped the vehicle to be heated by “waste” heat from a Bitcoin S9 miner.

Schmid told Cointelegraph that he saves “about 50% of the cost of propane, which works out to about $2.7 a day.”

In his own words, “Our Airstream has solar panels on top of it that can generate up to 400W of energy, so technically of the 1400W that the miner uses, 400W of them are self-generated and fully renewable.”

Waste Heat from Bitcoin Miner Dries out Wood

Kryptovault is a Norwegian Bitcoin mining company with the greenest credentials in the entire industry. Powered 100% by hydroelectric power, the energy it uses resolves valid blocks on the Bitcoin Blockchain and the heat generated by the miners blows onto damp logs at a local sawmill.

The environmental success of the project has stimulated other partnerships. Kjetil Hove Pettersen, CEO of KryptoVault, told Cointelegraph that algae drying for local businesses is coming, and they are “constantly looking for new ways to use our waste heat.”

Promotion of Financial and Energy Autonomy in Guatemala

In southern Guatemala, a team of Bitcoin miners donated an S9 to the local mayor and the mining proceeds have the goal of repairing a wastewater treatment plant.

As Bill Whittaker, co-founder of Bitcoin Lake, told Cointelegrpah, the team is “self-funding carbon-negative Bitcoin mining R&D.” Two high school students, Madaket and Kate, are planning a trip to “LakeBitcoin in early May to deliver the S17s they’ve been working on.”

The Bitcoin miners they bring in will join the first Bitcoin miner and will naturally run with renewable energy, in this case, biogas. Biogas is growing in popularity as a source of energy for Bitcoin mining.

Bitcoin Mining Grows Flowers and Food

Bitcoin miners heat a greenhouse in the Netherlands instead of natural gas. In collaboration with a large greenhouse, they “placed a Bitcoin miner to reduce the use of natural gas, whose prices have skyrocketed, and heat the greenhouse with the miner’s heat instead.”

By Audy Castaneda

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