Despite legal difficulties, Bitcoin gains trust in Latin America
Last week was interesting for the cryptocurrency industry. The investment bank Goldman Sachs suggested in a technical analysis that now was a good time to buy Bitcoin as it predicted that its price would increase to around $13900 in the short term. Added to that, more and more rumors stipulate that China is on the brick of launching its own cryptocurrency which would be under the government’s control. However, one of the most interesting news is the one of Bantotal, a financial software company, who has partnered with Bitex a crypto exchange company.
Major breakthrough in Latin America
Bantotal is a financial software company based in Uruguay which offers cross border payment systems across Latin America. The company decided to partner with Bitex so that its clients could access to the exchange services of the former and use it for cross border payments using the Bitcoin Blockchain. The partnership will allow to convert fiat currency into BTC and back to fiat in order to make the payments up to five times cheaper and faster when usually the process of transferring money in this part of the world could take up to 96 hours. Bitex will therefore act as a peer to peer platform for Bantotal’s clients.
The partnership is a major boost for the crypto industry in Latin America as it is reported that Bantotal has more than 60 financial institutions as clients who will therefore have access to these services.
The Digital transformation is underway
The Bantotal case shows us that digital assets are taking more and more part in the financial market but also in our daily lives. It also shows us that the financial sector is trying to evolve and take advantage of this transformation. Banks cannot be left out of this revolution or they will suffer in the future. In 2015, the French bank BNP Parisbas released a report stating that the technology behind cryptocurrencies could make traditional banking “ redundant “.
Moreover, we know that the financial sector in Latin America has a reputation of being a weak one. This is why the use of cryptocurrencies in this region of the world could help increase commerce between countries and therefore ressources. Cryptocurrencies have demonstrated that they can be an opportunity for poor countries and those who are left out of the financial sector. They can help those people find financing but also help them trade with other parts of the world at a reduced cost.
Be in or out
The future belongs to those who take advantage of the present. It also belongs to those who understand how the crypto industry can revolutionize the world. The financial sector knows that if it wants to lead tomorrow it needs to do everything to be in the crypto world and not out. However, cryptocurrencies are still in uncharted legal territory which means that their use is limited. As cryptocurrencies are not regulated by governments and banks, trust in these digital assets is still low. Regulators who wish to take advantage of this transformation need to throw some light on what their opinion of digital assets is. If countries do not act today, they will find themselves out of this transformation.
Pablo Faucon Diaz
Published at Thu, 30 Jan 2020 11:42:28 +0000
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