It was late at night, I was surfing the web for crypto-related content, and then, I don't really know how, I found it, in all its coolness.
I have found the Latin American version of Binance. Let me elaborate.
Binance is notorious for offering hundreds of different cryptocurrencies on its platform, and many people are of the opinion that that is just a huge waste of time and effort, some will argue that they only do that because they make more money with transaction fees and that basically they are scamming their customers. Although this post is not a defense on Binance, and I do think there is some truth to those claims, let me explain where I come from.
My stance on this issue
If you have followed my work so far, you already know that I identify myself as a "Crypto Maximalist" meaning, that I support all cryptos that are interesting, resolve a painful problem, have an idealistic goal or are technically sound. This means that I am not at all a Bitcoin Maximalist, because of that, I have a very different set of needs when it comes to buying, selling or hodling bitcoin.
To do this a little bit more easy to understand, let's compare the two cases, a bitcoin maximalist and me:
Bitcoin Maximalist
It just needs to get his hands on bitcoin (and maybe some well-known alts in order to get more bitcoin in certain circumstances)
It needs to get some hardware wallet or system to protect its crypto
It doesn't trade that much, it might lean towards total hodling.
In the case of payments, he might just go on to spend crypto directly, without converting into fiat
Me
I need to get my hands on multiple coins, both because of wanting to get onto different projects, as well as in the quest to find the next Ethereum.
I need a hardware wallet, but also knowledge for storing crypto that might not have support for hardware wallets.
I do not necessarily trade much, but I need to have the option of doing that, both to exit a not so well performing coin or to jump on another possibility that seems to be better.
I need/want to get options for converting crypto into fiat, and onto my bank account.
So now, taking into account what I want/need, you could realize that the landscape so far doesn't look very promising, among other things because
I need/want to get onto many different exchanges just to live my crypto life the way I want to, which is KYC madness, although in weighing the downside with the upside, and knowing than my own government is not really that smart with our national ID cards, I'm willing (at least temporarily) to assume those risks.
I need to get debit cards from outside of my country or set up semi-complex systems to get crypto or fiat onto some exchanges to be able to get some crypto that might be on my radar.
When withdrawing money from some exchanges, sometimes I need to send crypto to multiple exchanges before being able to withdraw to my local bank account, which is very impractical and has also a set of risks on its own.
What I've Found
Enter the huge improvement. Cryptofacil (please note, I do not get paid to write this article)
Cryptofacil is an exchange from Uruguay who serves specifically the Latin American market, which to me and my crypto life means a huge improvement, let's check some pros and cons of this platform, shall we?
PROS
An interface completely in Spanish (useful to onboard friends and family members)
Customer service in Spanish and focused on our markets (I still remember when I received an automatic email from a Coinbase bot which says that my market doesn't have the privilege of getting their emails responded,.... low IQ company)
Since they are focused on the Latin American markets, the possibility of them working with my favorite Mexican bank is higher (although I haven't check that out yet)
Direct, one-step withdrawals become easier.
CONS
It is a centralized exchange: I really want the stellar protocol for decentralized exchange of crypto to fiat to get more adoption, and I'm totally planning on using it, but in the meantime, this exchange improves my crypto situation, even though it is not ideal.
No apps yet: So far they only have a web-based version of their site, which is far from ideal, but let's see if that disadvantage is corrected soon.
250+ Cryptocurrencies!
They offer over 250 different cryptocurrencies!
I still remember the dopamine-party that my brain was when I saw literally all the coins I wanted, listed on their system,... I was like:
"They have Hydro!,... (scrolling down) ohhh, they also have Civic"
And so on for like 10 minutes,... it was (it is) amazing.
Here a just some notable altcoins that they offer:
- Burst Coin
- Hydro
- Decred
- Enjin
- Stellar Lumens
- Civic
- Cardano
- Ravencoin
- Bloom
- Digibyte
- Dogecoin
- XYO
Now I can think of the possibility of requesting the elimination of my KYC data from some exchanges if that's possible (I guess it should be possible, but let's see)
They also have a partnership with Bittrex, which gives more liquidity to the platform (haven't tested out yet, but will report on that later)
They are also running a contest to win 1000 USD (paid out in BTC) if you are able to guess with the greatest precision the price of Bitcoin on the 25 of October, if you are interested in that, check out the link here (I'm not getting paid for this, just trying to be nice)
Conclusion
Just as I was saying in my article titled: The Idea Of What Constitutes An S**coin Will Dramatically Change In The Near Future
I mentioned that eventually in Latin America exchanges and services would arise and would take notice of different coins, and it is happening faster than I thought and in a more notorious manner. (more fireworks than anticipated)
So, with that being said, let's buy and hodl some dogecoin! :D
This is not investment advice, do your own research (DYOR)
Resources
https://cryptofacil.com
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mexico-s-entire-voter-database-made-accessible-on-the-internet/
https://www.publish0x.com/cryptolohy101/idea-what-constitutes-scoin-will-dramatically-change-near-fu-xlqpdo
https://international.bittrex.com/
https://cryptofacil.com/mx/prediccion-precio-del-bitcoin-btc