Latam Insights: Bolivia Mulls Chinese Yuan for Trade Settlements, Steve Hanke Proposes 30-Day Solution for Venezuelan Inflation

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue, Bolivia mulls using the Chinese yuan in international trade settlements, inflation reaches 108.8% in Argentina, and…

Former Paxful CEO Says He Cannot ‘Vouch for Anything Happening There Now’ — Platform Tells Users It Is Back Online

The former CEO of Paxful, Ray Youssef, has told users of the peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace that he is no longer in control and therefore cannot vouch for “anything that is happening there now.” Youssef also told a user who claimed to…

SEC Probes First Republic Bank Executives for Insider Trading; Lawmakers Dump Bank’s Shares Before Collapse

After the second largest bank failure in history, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly investigating First Republic Bank executives for allegedly engaging in insider trading. Two sources have claimed that the securities regulator is scrutinizing the bank’s executives…

Japan’s Inflation Surges to 3.5% as New BOJ Governor Takes the Helm

This week, the Statistics Bureau of Japan unveiled the latest core consumer price index (CPI) report for the country, revealing a surge to 3.5%. This figure comes as a surprise to analysts who had predicted a more modest 2.9% for the…

Coinbase Shares Wells Response, Challenges SEC’s Change in Attitude Towards Its Core Businesses

On April 27, Coinbase, the crypto exchange based in San Francisco, made public the disclosure of its response to the Wells notice it had received from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) back in March. The company maintained that the…

South African Professor Accuses US Regulators of Attempting to ‘Assassinate Crypto’

The United States’ attempts to “assassinate crypto” are illegal and unlikely to succeed because “crypto is global,” Steven Boykey Sidley, a South African professor and author, has argued. According to Sidley, many formerly U.S.-based companies and innovators have fled the country…

Alleged Kenyan Bill Proposes Widening Definition of Securities to Include Crypto Assets

A bill seeking to put blockchain and crypto assets under the purview of the Kenyan Capital Markets Authority is supposedly set to be debated in the country’s parliament. The bill also seeks to “widen the meaning of ‘securities’ to capture digital…

Burry on Banking Crisis, Kiyosaki Warns of ‘Fake Money’ Injections; Talk of ‘Anti-Crypto’ Agenda Behind Signature Bank Collapse — Week in Review

Speculation and debate continue to rage surrounding the current global banking debacle. Hedge fund manager Michael Burry — known for predicting 2008’s economic crisis — is drawing comparisons to the Panic of 1907, while Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki…

Crypto Neobank Wallbit Leaves Venezuela Due to Sanctions

Wallbit, a crypto-enabled neobank, announced it would stop serving users in Venezuela after its banking partner in the U.S. called on it to do so. The platform announced this move was the direct result of the economic sanctions that the country…

Brazilian Government Preparing New Decree to Clarify Cryptocurrency Rules

The Brazilian government is preparing to release a decree to fill the blank spaces that the recent approval of the cryptocurrency law has left open. The document, prepared by the Ministry of Finance, will establish the areas of oversight and responsibilities…