Latam Insights: Bolivia Sells Gold for Dollars, Argentina Bans Fintech Crypto, Fitch Upgrades El Salvador’s Credit Rating

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 passes a law to sell gold for dollars, the Central Bank of Argentina bans fintech…

Ex-Coinbase Exec Balaji Srinivasan Closes Out $1 Million Bitcoin Bet

Former Chief Technology Officer at Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, closed out early a bet that the price of bitcoin would hit $1 million by mid-June amid hyperinflation of the U.S. dollar. Srinivasan paid a total of $1.5 million, more than the initially…

Satoshi’s Last Emails: ‘Make It About the Open-Source Project,’ Economist Predicts ‘Catastrophic’ Fall in US Living Standard, FRC Shares Plummet, and More — Week in Review

Another week has passed in the world of crypto and finance, with the anniversary of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s last known emails, predictions of massive declines in Americans’ standard of living, and important developments at the struggling First Republic Bank. All…

BRICS Currency Will Erode US Dollar’s Dominance, Former White House Economist Warns

Former White House economist Joseph Sullivan has warned that a BRICS currency would erode the U.S. dollar’s dominance. If member nations use only a common BRICS currency for international trade, “they would remove an impediment that now thwarts their efforts to…

Jeffrey Tucker Says Dollar Will Be Dethroned, Russian Official Speaks on De-Dollarization, and a Look at Historic Fractional Reserve Banking in Italy — Week in Review

Bitcoin proponents eyeing fiat failures are in no shortage of news on the topic as of late, as multiple officials, economists, authors, and analysts from around the world have been weighing in on “de-dollarization” in a prolific fashion. Author and libertarian…

ECB President Lagarde Warns of ‘Major Disaster’ If US Defaults on Debt Obligations

There is a lot of discussion lately about the U.S. government’s debt ceiling and whether Congress will act before defaulting. In a recent interview, Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), said she is confident the U.S. can…

Economist and Political Scientist Refute Claims of US Dollar’s Demise Despite Trend of De-Dollarization News

This year, there has been a flurry of news reports and opinion editorials discussing an alleged de-dollarization trend amid a wave of disclosures associated with the BRICS bloc. In a recent article, the American political scientist and author Ian Bremmer insisted…

With Close to 10 Billion Stablecoins Redeemed, BUSD’s Supply Drops to Lowest Level Since April 2021

Statistics recorded on April 15, 2023, show that the number of coins in circulation for the stablecoin BUSD dropped below the 7 billion range to 6.68 billion, marking the lowest number of BUSD in circulation since April 2021. Furthermore, data indicates…

Brazil’s President Lula Urges Developing Countries to Abandon Dollar as Global Reserve Currency

According to Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, developing countries should abandon the U.S. dollar and strengthen their own national currencies. During a speech at the New Development Bank in Shanghai, Lula expressed his nightly pondering: “Why do all countries…

G7 to Discuss More Crypto Regulation and How to Help Developing Nations Introduce Central Bank Digital Currencies

The G7 countries are discussing more crypto regulation and ways to help developing nations introduce central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). “As a priority of this year, the G7 will consider how best to help developing countries introduce CBDC consistent with appropriate…