Key facts:
Banco Galicia opens investments in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Argentina.
El Salvador is far from a mass adoption of bitcoin, according to a survey.
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.
This week the information related to the regulation of the cryptocurrency sector was the most prominent in the Latin American arena. These are Panama and Cuba.
Thus, while the Caribbean island regulates the granting of licenses to companies that wish to carry out bitcoin exchange activities, in Panama the National Assembly approved a bill that legalizes the use of cryptocurrency as a means of payment.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the region, the announcements of the Galicia and Brubank banks in Argentina stand out, in which they enabled the purchase of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from their platforms.
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
Almost two months after requesting the Ministry of Economy access to public information on the details of the clauses signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the NGO Bitcoin Argentina received a response by the Central Bank.
The financial institution ensures that the objective of the agreement is not to discourage the use of cryptocurrencies, although he considers that this ecosystem is one of the sources of risk and potential vulnerabilities of the local financial system, for which “it must be constantly monitored.”
Despite the above, the government plans to include Bitcoin technology in the Mint’s mission and scope. For this, it made a reform in the organic statute of the entity, which was decreed by the president. The objective is to update and expand the corporate purpose of the institution and approach digital environments.
Additionally, the government plans to join the international mechanisms for exchanging information for users of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, in order to avoid tax evasion.
From this May 2, Banco Galicia, one of the largest private entities in the South American country, offers its customers the option to buy bitcoin. This is a plan that was also announced by the entity Brubank.
At Banco Galicia, the minimum investment is ARS 100 (equivalent to about USD 0.50) and the cryptocurrencies acquired cannot be withdrawn from the bank, since it offers the option of repurchasing them, when the investor no longer wants to have them in his possession.
This, while at Brubank, which works only digitally, without physical offices, the new investment option is still in the beta phase. They added the option to acquire not only BTC but also ether (ETH), and the stablecoins USD Coin (USDC) and DAI.
Cuba
Since last April 26, Cuba has authorized the delivery of licenses to companies that provide services with cryptocurrencies. According to the resolution of the Central Bank, it was arranged that those natural or legal persons, who wish to operate virtual assets, must opt for a license before the agency, extendable for a second year.
The resolution will take effect from next Monday, May 16. The financial institution appoints up to 10 registries or validations to consider the requests. As a first step, stakeholders must issue a letter formalizing the request to the Central Bank. There they have to detail the business proposal with a description of the operating model, the “virtual assets (such as bitcoin) that they propose, the platform and the cryptographic standard that they use.”
The Savior
A study by the National Office of Economic Research of the United States probed the level of acceptance with which bitcoin has permeated the Salvadoran population, applying a survey to almost 2,000 households. The results indicate thatthe citizens of that country they prefer to pay with cash dollars and not with BTC.
The institution makes the exception that the resource of the survey was necessary due to “the little access to the data that the government offers to anyone who wishes to study a widely debated phenomenon”, such as the Bitcoin Law of El Salvador.
![Panama and Cuba ratify laws to regulate cryptocurrencies Panama and Cuba ratify laws to regulate cryptocurrencies](https://www.criptonoticias.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/chivo-wallet-impuestos.jpg)
On the other hand, the Minister of Finance of El Salvador, Alejandro Zelaya, pointed out that there are currently no favorable conditions in the market for the launch of the so-called “volcano bonds” and they expect the first cryptocurrency to rise in price. The idea it is encourage purchase by investorswhich is more feasible when BTC is on the rise, he explained.
Spain
Inflation in Europe has reached an all-time high for the sixth consecutive month, according to data from Europe’s statistics office, Eurostat. A global problem that hits the continent hard and makes the inhabitants flock to cryptocurrencies.
The agency announced that year-on-year headline inflation in Europe was 7.5% in April. A figure that exceeds the March index of 7.4% and all the previous ones. A situation that calls into question the economic stability that characterized the continent.
Meanwhile, new information emerged in Spain related to alleged fraudulent schemes.
On this occasion, the National Court of Spain, by decision of the Supreme Court of that country, opened an investigation on a platform called Nimbus. They accuse her of operating a pyramid scheme for a figure that is close to USD 140 million, according to a forensic report from the Civil Guard, which would have left a number of affected that reaches 4,000 people.
Mexico
Mexican businessman and billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego reported what had dismissed their plans to venture into Bitcoin mining. This is because, in his opinion, there is uncertainty in the tax issue in Mexico, which would imply risks of investment losses that he would not be willing to run.
Salinas Pliego said that he will dedicate himself to buying bitcoins instead of mining, due to his position as an investor.
![Panama and Cuba ratify laws to regulate cryptocurrencies Salinas Pliego, abandons Bitcoin mining and buys BTC.](https://www.criptonoticias.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/salinas-pliego.png)
For her part, Senator Indira Kempis, representative to the Mexican Congress, reported on her Twitter account about the installation of a bitcoin ATM. the team now is installed in the seat of the Senate, in the Mexican capital.
Panama
In its third and last debate, the National Assembly of Panama definitively approved the bill that allows bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in that Central American country.
As reported by the agency on Twitter, they concluded the necessary phases for the law to be reviewed by the Executive. Now we are only waiting for the observations of the President of the Republic, who you must deliver your considerations in about 30 business days.
According to the document, both individuals and merchants may agree to the use of cryptoactives without limitation as a means of payment, although it will not be mandatory to accept it.
It also contemplates the digitization of public administration processes with the use of blockchain platformsthe issuance of digital securities, the possibility of paying taxes with cryptocurrencies, in addition to the tokenization of precious metals and other goods, among other provisions.
Venezuela
The Human Rights Foundation gave a 0.5 bitcoin donation to Venezuelan developer Francisco Calderón. The programmer designed a bot with which you can trade bitcoins directly from Telegramwithout any custody.
The HRF confirmed that Calderón will receive half a bitcoin to continue working on lnp2pbot, which is a bot through which BTC can be exchanged through the Lightning network.
![Panama and Cuba ratify laws to regulate cryptocurrencies Alex Gladstein](https://www.criptonoticias.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alex-gladstein-twitt.png)
The BNB Venezuela organization and the CoinCoinX exchange organized the Revelation Hackathon event in the city of Caracas, which took place on April 25. It was a project dissemination meeting and growth plans of the participating companies for Venezuela.
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 5: Streaming webinar “Introductory talk on bitcoin and blockchain”, organized by NGO Bitcoin Argentina.
- Thursday May 5: Informative talk “Presentation of the Schools and Bitcoin project”, organized by the NGO Bitcoin Argentina.
- Monday May 10: Free talk «Introduction to Lightning Network», organized by NGO Bitcoin Argentina.
Businesses that accept cryptocurrencies in Spanish-speaking countries
- 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).
- crypto jeans (jeans factory in Colombia).
- Native Bamboo (Hotel located in La Montañita, Ecuador).
- La Manuela Tattoo (tattoo studio in Madrid, Spain).
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.