The crisis in Latin america opens up new opportunities to exchange houses of cryptocurrencies

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The resistance to restrictive laws and the urgency of social change favored the rise of Bitcoin.The regulations, on the other hand, seem to be a controversial point for the exchange houses.”Where there is crisis there is opportunity,” commented Manuel Beaudroit, marketing manager of the home exchange argentina Bitex, referring to the current situation in the market of cryptocurrencies in Latin america. For Beaudroit, the current socio-political of the continent can boost the adoption of Bitcoin, especially in countries such as Argentina and Venezuela. This position is shared by four other representatives of exchange houses Latin america’s most emblematic, who participated in the seventh edition of LaBITconf, in the panel How the houses change surf the Latin american crisis.Beaudroit pointed out that the stocks foreign exchange imposed by the argentine government this year accelerated the purchase and sale of bitcoins in that nation. “As you can’t buy dollars freely, becoming to buy bitcoin for receipt of value. Even, it is used for international payments, he said. The argentines would be looking for, according to Beaudroit, new alternatives of payment and receipt of value with the aim of keeping afloat their business, as well as its economy daily.Beaudroit assumed that the civil disobedience of the argentines, as an act of survival, has benefited the market of cryptocurrencies. Citizens are willing to violate the laws of restriction of purchase of dollars with such to maintain the safety of their savings, which flock to the new technologies such as Bitcoin. This phenomenon is not exclusive to Argentina, a similar case occurs in Venezuela due to the devaluation of the bolivar.

Guillermo Torrealba, CEO of the exchange houses chilean Buddha, believes that although the crisis in Chile is not economic has also benefited Bitcoin. Torrealba points out that the loss of confidence in institutions in chile has opened an opportunity for those who wish to escape the system pre-established. In this way, although the citizens do not need an alternative monetary urgent to survive, yes there has been an increase in the trading volume of bitcoin in Chile.Torrealba calls it an “awakening group” which not only affects Chile, but throughout Latin America. For example, Edelman Trust Barometer pointed out at the beginning of this decade that people around the world relied increasingly less on the institutions. This change of mentality could be benefiting Bitcoin, since this technology is born out of a questioning of the authorities and the centralised power. The CEO of the Buddha concluded that he was optimistic about the future and believes that the crisis, continental will open up more opportunities for the exchange houses in the region.

Regulation: do you ally or enemy?

Although the socio-economic situation in Mexico and Brazil is tense, it can be said that today there is a lived crisis in those territories. Because of this, Pablo González, co-founder of the house of change mexican Bitxo, and Rocelo Lopes, CEO of the brazilian shelf Stratum, are focused today on how they affect the national regulations.Some consider the regulations a bad idea, others believe that they are undoubtedly necessary. However, the majority of the panelists, related to the ecosystem of exchange houses, concluded that the regulation have become an Achilles ‘ heel. Gonzalez pointed out that the Law Fintech in Mexico is too restrictive, making it difficult to enter the market of exchange houses in mexico.Andrew Fleischer, of the home exchange argentina (Gravel), also highlighted that the regulations instead of strengthening the market, failed. “Small businesses do not survive these measures,” he said;adding that not only the great competitors can benefit, while competition and variety disappears. In that sense, Paul Gonzalez confirmed that the regulations of Gibraltar helped Bitxo to improve their relations with the banks in Europe.

However, in many cases, the regulations only add further complications to the users and exchange houses. Rocelo Lopes asserts that because the brazilian government does not understand how the cryptocurrencies, they end up creating laws that limit their functioning. For example, recently the Securities and exchange Commission of Brazil suspended the sale of a token created by Stratum.Guillermo Torrealba, on the other hand, considers that, although the laws may bring problems, a good regulation is necessary. The proliferation of scams in Latin America, but especially in countries with zero regulations such as Peru and Colombia, expose users to the loss of money. “We hate regulation because we live in countries where it regulates lousy”, he said. Because of this, Torrealba concludes that it has to promote a regulation in which the consumer has protection without compromising the small businesses.

An ecosystem partner

Before the regulations constraints and the lack of interest of banks by the enterprises of cryptocurrencies, the actors of this market to ensure that the union is the priority. Unlike other ecosystems, Andrew Fleischer Gravel believes that in the world of cryptocurrencies companies join together “by an ideal of the common good”.Fleischer notes that the friendship between entrepreneurs in Latin america is a common practice, as it is a huge market where you can appreciate the diversity. In addition, the COO believes that the union is the key to be able to overcome the adverse situations and even to get a good banking partners.

Another of the elements that limits the growth of the exchange houses in Latin America are the banks. Some owners of exchange houses have been considered to create its own bank in order to facilitate the deposit and withdrawal of coins fiat between exchanges. In this way, their operations would depend on the decision of the banks whether national or international.However, some employers seem to be more interested in continuing to create financial services, a parallel reality with cryptocurrencies end of a divorce from the banking industry. The panel closed with the promise that in the future we will see the fruits of these ideas and projects that today are being developed.

Cryptocurrency Market