Argentina caught up with Mexico in the use of cryptocurrencies
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
According to a recent survey by Australian consulting firm Finder, Argentina overtook Mexico among Latin American countries with the highest use of cryptocurrencies, ranking 13th in 27 countries.
The first place among Latin American countries went to Colombia, which ranked third in the overall list and went from 7.7% to 14.5% in the number of cryptocurrency users between October and December. It was only surpassed by Norway and Russia, which grew 3% and 2.9%. Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil completed the Latin American ranking in positions 15, 16, and 17.
Read also: Check out our coverage on Argentina
On the other hand, in the NFT (non-fungible token – digital assets) market, Meta (former Facebook) is analyzing entering this segment, according to Financial Times. The company is evaluating allowing its social networks Facebook and Instagram to create and trade NFTs. Each user could display their collections (how NFTs of a particular category are usually grouped) on their profiles.
And the company could even launch an NFT marketplace similar to the most famous of all, OpenSea. In mid-2021, the first rumors had appeared that Instagram could incorporate functions related to digital collections under the label “Collectible”.
Yesterday it also became known that the Solana network registered a new record within NFTs, whose sales crossed the US$1 billion barrier between August and January. The highest daily sales were recorded on August 31, when they exceeded US$47 million, while the monthly record was in October, with US$264 million.
One of the most expensive NFTs, in the shape of a zombie ape, was sold in September for US$1.1 million. A month later, the sale of another ape for US$2.1 million broke the record again.
Continuing in this segment, El Salvador, the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal currency, announced that it will have a space in the metaverse with a virtual casino where it will be possible to buy and sell NFT.
The “Astro Casino” will operate on the Solana blockchain, and Astro Babies will be the company in charge of the project. There will also be a physical branch with slot machines and table games, such as weekly poker tournaments.
BTC RESUMES ITS UPWARD TREND
To the relief of many investors, yesterday, the cryptocurrency market resumed its bullish path after several days of declines. Bitcoin was up 2.3% and hovering near US$43,000, while Ethereum was up almost 3% and hovering around US$3,200.
Some investors argue that bitcoin’s rally could be because gold, which along with BTC is sought after as a safe haven for value, also rebounded. Some technical analysis argues that a rebound could be coming soon, as the current scenario is “similar to September, just before BTC fell below US$45,000 and then rebounded sharply by 62%.”
However, yesterday there was also bad news for the cryptocurrency: the US SEC rejected the application of the First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Trust, a fund that sought to track the BTC spot price.
The agency justified itself by assuring that the approval of the ETF would not pursue the objective of “preventing fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” or “protecting investors and the public interest”.
The entity disapproved several bitcoin spot ETF proposals eight years ago, even though it did allow three bitcoin futures funds, which trade on possible future prices instead of the current value like spot, to enter the exchange.
In other bad news, former stock trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb, known for having warned about the risks of the U.S. mortgage market, said that bitcoin is a “contagious disease” and does not serve as a safe haven of value.
According to him, BTC may interest some investors for speculative purposes, but it does not serve as a hedge: “Anyone who claims that bitcoin is a hedge against anything, financial or otherwise, is a certified fraud”. He argued that the cryptocurrency “is not a hedge against adversity, inflation, or deflation” and is not even “a currency.”
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Brazil — Live Market Board
+0.01%
174,586.26
+0.01%
66,644.91
+0.53%
11,369.18
-0.71%
3,024,971
+0.53%
2,493.32
-0.60%
60,449.35
+0.30%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBOV | 174,586.26 | +0.01% | +21.85% | 174,576.80 | 168,310 | 167,142 | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.16 | +0.01% | -5.13% | 5.16 | 5.18 | 5.14 | — |
| SELIC | 14.00% | — | — | — | — | — | |
| PETR4 | 41.64 | -0.05% | +35.19% | 41.66 | 41.97 | 41.15 | 41,499,400 |
| VALE3 | 72.97 | +0.83% | +30.75% | 72.37 | 73.54 | 72.66 | 17,658,000 |
| ITUB4 | 38.60 | -1.03% | +4.57% | 39.00 | 39.34 | 38.39 | 29,487,800 |
| BBDC4 | 16.85 | +0.36% | +3.50% | 16.79 | 16.90 | 16.67 | 19,416,900 |
| BBAS3 | 19.37 | +0.47% | +0.73% | 19.28 | 19.44 | 19.16 | 11,069,200 |
| B3SA3 | 14.26 | -0.21% | +12.73% | 14.29 | 14.47 | 14.11 | 33,037,800 |
| ABEV3 | 14.89 | -0.80% | +21.91% | 15.01 | 15.07 | 14.81 | 16,453,100 |
| WEGE3 | 47.59 | +0.49% | +29.99% | 47.36 | 48.08 | 47.36 | 3,364,600 |
| PRIO3 | 59.14 | -0.19% | +50.67% | 59.25 | 59.81 | 58.74 | 3,325,600 |
| SUZB3 | 41.33 | +2.35% | -23.55% | 40.38 | 41.48 | 40.35 | 3,914,900 |
| RENT3 | 34.68 | -0.09% | +0.84% | 34.71 | 34.96 | 34.35 | 7,979,100 |
| AZZA3 | 15.89 | -2.63% | -53.76% | 16.32 | 16.42 | 15.82 | 1,330,300 |
| CSNA3 | 4.30 | +0.47% | -42.65% | 4.28 | 4.41 | 4.26 | 10,076,100 |
| GGBR4 | 24.69 | +2.19% | +51.38% | 24.16 | 24.85 | 24.18 | 7,047,600 |
| ENEV3 | 24.21 | -1.38% | +70.49% | 24.55 | 24.64 | 23.99 | 9,297,000 |
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