Latam Insights – Inflation Skyrockets in Argentina, El Salvador Processes Digital Assets Licenses, Venezuelan Crypto Corruption Probe Continues

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: Inflation in Argentina goes over 100%, El Salvador issues its first digital assets licenses, and the…

G20 Finance Chiefs Agree Global Policy Responses to Crypto Are Required

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors have agreed that crypto regulation cannot be confined to one part of the world, said India’s finance minister. “Any action on crypto assets will have to be global,” she stressed, adding that the…

Tax Benefits for Bitcoin Businesses in Belarus Extended Until 2025

Tax exemptions for companies and individuals legally working with cryptocurrencies in Belarus will remain in place until Jan. 1, 2025. A new presidential decree extends the tax cuts introduced in 2018 when the executive power in Minsk legalized crypto activities such…

US Government Remains a Top Bitcoin Holder With Seized Stash Valued at $5.6 Billion

As of March 25, 2023, the U.S. government held 205,515 bitcoins worth $5.6 billion, which is approximately 1.06% of the circulating supply, according to current statistics. The cache of bitcoins is a result of three forfeitures that began in 2020. Glassnode’s…

Coinbase Tries AI Assistant Chatgpt for Pre-Listing Risk Assessment of Tokens

Crypto exchange Coinbase has tested Openai’s Chatgpt as a token verification tool comparing it with its standard security procedure. In over half of the cases, the AI platform produced the same results as the manual review, but it also failed to…

Analysts Suspect Banking Crisis Triggered ‘Resting Bull Market’ in Gold, Silver Could Print Much Higher Gains

At the start of the week, a troy ounce of .999 fine gold was trading at $1,813 per unit. Seven days later, gold rose 9.65% against the U.S. dollar to the current spot price of $1,988 per ounce. Gold’s rise comes…

Russian Crypto Industry Queries Government About Proposed Criminal Liability for Miners

The organization representing Russia’s crypto sector has asked the government in Moscow to clarify a proposal to introduce criminal liability for “gray” miners. The draft legislation seeks to punish those who fail to report their income to the state and share…

‘Next Round of Bailouts Is Here’ — Bitcoin and Precious Metals Soar Amid Speculation of Fed Policy Change

At around 7:30 a.m. ET, the price of bitcoin skyrocketed past the $27,000 range to a high of $27,025 per unit. Precious metals, or PMs, like gold and silver, also rose between 1.98% and 2.12% against the U.S. dollar over the…

FTX Debtors Report $8.9B Shortfall in Customer Funds and ‘Highly Commingled’ Assets in Latest Presentation

On March 2, 2023, FTX debtors released their second stakeholder presentation, which contains a preliminary analysis of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange’s shortfalls. The latest presentation reveals a significant shortfall, as approximately $2.2 billion of the company’s total assets were found in…

NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce Charged by SEC for Touting EMAX Tokens

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce for touting EMAX tokens and making misleading comments about unregistered crypto securities. The former Boston Celtics small forward agreed to settle the charges and pay the…