Major Latin American cryptocurrency and digital assets company, Cryptobuyer, has installed two bitcoin ATMs on the premises of a commercial bank in Panama City.
Cryptobuyer Has Ambitious Plans for Expanding the Presence of Its Bitcoin ATMs Across the Latin American Continent
Cryptobuyer has become the world’s first company to install bitcoin ATMs on the premises of a commercial bank, following the launch of two ATMs at Banismo Bank’s headquarters in Panama City. The installed bitcoin ATMs support DASH transactions in addition to Bitcoin.
Cryptobuyer has ambitious plans for expanding the presence of their bitcoin ATMs across the Latin American continent, announcing its intention to open more than 20 additional bitcoin ATMs throughout South America at the recently-concluded Panamanian Association of Fintech event. Cryptobuyer CEO, Jorge Luis Faris, told news.bitcoin.com that the company plans to “consolidate our position as leaders in Panama, then we will go through Costa Rica, Chile, and Brazil, all these countries have high rates of immigration and old and expensive remittances services that are our main focus.”
The Fintech event was hosted by Banismo, the second largest bank in Panama, and featured Jorge Farias participating in an expert panel discussing the potential applications of bitcoin and blockchain technology throughout Latin America.
Cryptobuyer is one of many cryptocurrency companies hoping to be at the forefront of driving bitcoin adoption throughout Latin America. With many South American nations accounting for an enormous remittance industry of approximately $70 billion USD in 2015 in addition to housing 400 million underbanked citizens, the positive impacts that widespread bitcoin adoption could have across the continent would be enormous.
South American Cryptocurrency Companies Will Likely Generate Greater Profits Through Providing Services That Cater to the Utility of Bitcoin
For many Latin Americans bitcoin’s greatest utility is its ability to store value. Following neoliberal economic restructuring during the 1980’s and 1990’s many Latin American national currencies saw intense volatility in their value. For citizens living in nations like Argentina and Venezuela, the symptoms of hyperinflation have increasingly become embedded in day to day life.
Stories of Argentinian store owners repricing goods multiple times a day are common, making the conducting of basic purchases a constant stress for merchants and customers. Argentina notoriously restricts the ability for its citizens to exchange fiat currencies or to move money outside of the national currency, leaving bitcoin as the virtual sole alternative store of value for most Argentinians.
With many Latin Americans turning to bitcoin in order to access its use values, such as being able to store value or circulate remittances, it is unlikely that South American bitcoin adoption will lead to the aggressive price spikes that have been associated with the new markets of China, India, and South Korea in recent years. As such, South American cryptocurrency companies will likely generate greater profits through providing services that cater to the utility of bitcoin, rather than through facilitating speculative trading.
Jorge Farias stressed the need for governments to introduce permissive regulations that will guarantee the growth of the cryptocurrency sector throughout the South American continent.
“The global trend is to look for simple but safe regulatory environments that do not slow down innovation. Panama, Chile and Brazil are already working on this and although the market is still small it is important that start ups and other actors prepare to be regulated and not die at birth.”