Bitcoin in Spanish is the weekly newsletter of CriptoNoticias in which we review the most important facts related to bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchains in the Hispanic world.
Information related to the regulation of the Argentine ecosystem resonated again this week, especially after a project was approved in the Senate that would add taxes to bitcoin to pay the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Elsewhere in the region, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele hosted a meeting attended by representatives of financial institutions from 44 countries, all of whom were interested in knowing the benefits that the adoption of bitcoin (BTC) has brought to the Central American country.
To go to the detail of the news of each Spanish-speaking country, during the past week, we leave you the most recent Bitcoin in Spanish.
Argentina
The Senate of Argentina approved on May 12 a bill that proposes the creation of a “national fund for the cancellation of the debt with the International Monetary Fund” (IMF) in which bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are included.
The fund is intended to be established in US dollars and would oblige people residing in Argentina to pay taxes. who are holders of “cryptoactive and other similar” that are “located abroad (…) that have not been declared before the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP)».
Those who have BTC or another digital asset in an exchange or custody service based outside the country fall into this category. In the event that the Chamber of Deputies approves the law without any modification, the amount to be paid will be 20% of unregistered goods.
Meanwhile, the data that the INDEC (National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Argentina) released that same May 12 indicate that inflation in April was 6% higher than in March. An increase of 58% in the last twelve months. This is the highest figure since February 1992, which represents the highest year-on-year inflation in Argentina in the last 30 years.
In this context, Daniel Vogel, founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitso, pointed out that it is precisely this inflationary situation that gives the South American country advantages, leading people to think about what the alternatives are.
Chili
This week, the Central Bank of Chile presented its first evaluations regarding the benefits and challenges of issuing its own cryptocurrency. In a report prepared by the agency, it is noted that the final decision to launch a central bank digital currency or CBDC, requires a “deeper analysis regarding its costs and benefits”.
That means that, at the moment, Chile will not have a digital currency, especially because the necessary technological infrastructure is not available. However, its future launch is being considered, as long as it does not negatively impact the functioning of the financial system and the transmission of monetary policy.
In this regard, the president of the Central Bank of Chile, Rosanna Costa, said that one of the facilities that digital currency could offer is that can be used for payments, both online and offline. He added that the currency should co-exist and be convertible with cash and be used by commercial banks.
Costa Rica
The Costa Rican government had to declare a national emergency due to a ransomware attack. The Russian-based Conti hacker group took over computer systems to collect taxespay pensions, supervise exports and other tasks, which they control at will.
The declaration of emergency it was promulgated by Rodrigo Chaves shortly after he became the country’s 49th and current president.
The attack has spread progressively, even paralyzing the system of the Administrative Board of the Electrical Service of Cartago (JASEC), which manages the electricity supply of some 160,000 people in the city located southeast of the capital, San José.
The United States government offered a $10 million reward for those who provide information that could help capture those responsible for Conti.
The Savior
El Salvador has hosted a meeting in which representatives of financial institutions from 44 countries participated. With them, President Nayib Bukele talked about bitcoin adoptionamong other financial issues.
The event was held from May 16 to 17, eight months after bitcoin was declared legal tender. Bukele’s plan is show the economic impact that the pioneering cryptocurrency has produced in the nation he leads.
The attributes of the most important cryptocurrency in the ecosystem and the most secure network were explored by the 32 central banks and 12 other financial institutions, all members of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI).
This body promotes the use of financial services to the inclusion of the unbanked population. The event served for AFI representatives to test the Bitcoin Beach and Chivo wallets from El Salvador.
After that, its members are expected to understand and evaluate the benefits that bitcoin offers to serve a huge population of the world that does not have access to banking services.
events of the week
Among the events related to bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchains in the region for this week, the following stand out in the CriptoNoticias calendar:
- Thursday May 19: Streaming webinar “Introductory talk on bitcoin and blockchain 2022”, organized by NGO Bitcoin Argentina.
- Friday May 20 and Saturday May 20: Fourth edition of Virtualy Buenos Aires, organized by Hexagon Producciones.
- Saturday May 21: Free talk «Pizza Day Conference», organized by Paralelni Polis.
Businesses that accept cryptocurrencies in Spanish-speaking countries
- SOCIETYFARM (Pharmacy in Arequipa, Peru)
- Boutique Hotel(San Bernardo Del Tuyu, Province of Buenos Aires. Argentina)
- Video Marketing Agency (Store in Chile)
- Ceci’s Grilled Delights (restaurant, Salinas, Ecuador)
- Destinations Tours travel and ecotourism (travel agency, Colombia)
- JAM Services (Maxikiosko in Misiones, Argentina)
- Taqueria Cinco The Downtown (Restaurant, Veracruz, Mexico)
- intuition (Clothing store in Caracas, Venezuela)
- Congo monkey (Coffee in Dominical, Costa Rica)
- farm (Pharmacy in Dominical, Costa Rica)
- The Seventy Crepes (restaurant in Bogota, Colombia)
Do you know or have a small business that accepts bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for its products and services?
We invite you to share the information with us through [email protected]. We will inform about the adoption of cryptocurrencies of that business in some of the Spanish-speaking countries.