Latam Insights — Alliance Against Inflation, BTG Pactual Launches Stablecoin, and Argentina Debuts New Dollar

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: Latin American nations ink an agreement to reduce inflation, Brazil-based BTG Pactual launches its own dollar-pegged…

Kenyan AI and Blockchain Startup Receives Investment From Swiss VC Firm

Fastagger Inc, an artificial intelligence and blockchain startup from Kenya, recently revealed that it had received an investment from the Swizterland-based blockchain investor CVVC. Mutembei Kariuki, said the investment will be used to fund the further develop Fastagger’s “cutting-edge technology expertise”…

Egyptian Fintech MNT-Halan Secures $400 Million in Funding, Valuation Rises to Over $1 Billion

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan announced on Feb. 1 that it had raised over $340 million via debt and equity and it expects to raise an additional $60 million from leading international investors. The latest funding round sees MNT-Halan’s valuation rise to over…

Don’t Forget the Importance of Censorship Resistance

Since people are once again talking about self-custody as one of crypto’s unique strengths, I would like to remind everyone about an equally important fundamental value proposition of crypto that, in the early days, was touted as the killer feature. I’m…

IMF Bailout Approval Helps Zambian Kwacha Take the Russian Ruble’s Position as World’s Best Performing Currency

After the International Money Fund revealed it had approved a bailout package for Zambia, the Southern African country’s currency, the kwacha, rallied by 3.1%. Following this gain, the kwacha took the Russian ruble’s position as the world’s best-performing currency in 2022….

Ghana Central Bank Announces Launch of Regulatory Sandbox

Ghana’s recently launched regulatory and innovation sandbox is the latest proof of the central bank’s commitment to a regulatory environment that promotes “innovation, financial inclusion and financial stability,” a statement released by the Bank of Ghana has said. According to the…

Billionaire Mark Cuban Sued for Allegedly Promoting a Massive Crypto ‘Ponzi Scheme’

Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, is facing a class action lawsuit for promoting Voyager Digital’s crypto products. The plaintiffs claim that Voyager was “a massive Ponzi scheme” and Cuban “duped millions of…

CBDC Ensures Nigeria Remains Competitive in Increasingly Digital World — Central Bank Governor

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has insisted the recently introduced e-naira digital currency can potentially boost trade and investment activities in the country. He added the digital currency “would be necessary in the future to ensure Nigeria…

$19.2 Billion in Staked Assets — Liquid Staking Solution Lido Set to Surpass Curve’s TVL

While the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) hovers just above the $214 billion mark, a defi protocol called Lido has been moving closer toward taking Curve’s top spot in terms of TVL in a defi protocol. Currently, the…