Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto news from Latin America over the past week. In this week’s edition, El Salvador turns to gold to diversify its foreign reserves, Venezuela reportedly uses USDT to settle crude sales, and Bolivia is set to launch its national CBDC.
El Salvador Pivots to Gold, Acquires 13,999 Troy Ounces for Diversification
Gold is becoming, once again, an alluring commodity for central banks that want to have an asset different than the U.S. dollar to be used as a store of value against economic uncertainty. El Salvador has recently announced the purchase of 13,999 troy ounces of gold valued at $50 million, which will now enter their foreign reserve numbers.
The Central Bank of El Salvador stated that the purchase was part of a diversification strategy aimed at strengthening its foreign reserves. This is the first purchase of this kind that El Salvador has completed since 1990, with President Bukele centering his efforts on adding bitcoin to the country’s strategic reserve instead. El Salvador’s strategic bitcoin reserve is comprised of 6,292 BTC valued at $696 million at the time of writing.
With this move, the country’s gold reserves increase to 58,105 troy ounces, valued at an estimated $207.4 million.
Read more.
Economist: USDT Leveraged to Settle Crude Oil Sales in Venezuela
Stablecoins, such as USDT, have become essential in countries facing both economic crises and sanctions from third countries. Venezuela is increasing the percentage of payments received in USDT, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, for its crude sales, streamlining its operations to supply the local market with dollar liquidity.
Asdrubal Oliveros, a local economist, referred to the subject during a recent interview. He revealed that this situation has evolved into a more comprehensive usage of the stablecoin in corporate treasuries in Venezuela.
He declared:
In the last months, due to the current market dynamics in oil sales, [Venezuela] has been receiving settlements in USDT. Then, it is also developing mechanisms to sell these stablecoins.
Read more.
Bolivia Readies for Launching International Settlement-Focused CBDC This Month
Latam countries are increasingly looking to integrate digital currencies as part of their financial systems. The Central Bank of Bolivia recently announced that it is taking the final steps to launch the digital boliviano, a national central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The initiative, announced in May and slated for an August launch, was delayed due to unknown reasons. Nonetheless, the Central Bank has stated that the new currency, backed by the Bolivian government, will be finally presented this month.
Read more.
To follow all the latest developments in crypto and the economy in Latin America, sign up for our Latam Insights newsletter below.
Author: Sergio Goschenko
Source: Bitcoin
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
