Bitcoin Adoption in Latin America 2024
It is no secret that companies in the bitcoin world have set Latin America as their main target market for 2024. The reasons are multiple.
The first reason is that its market has the highest adoption. The increased adoption is due to both economic and political reasons. The main economic reason is high inflation rates, which motivates the population to adopt alternatives that protect them.
The recent approval in the United States of Bitcoin ETFs not only opens up the Bitcoin market on Wall Street and in the United States but also accelerates the adoption trend in Latin America.
We also have in Latin America political motives that accelerate Bitcoin adoption, which are unique globally.
El Salvador became the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as a payment currency and is receiving a $1 billion investment to develop the most ambitious global Bitcoin mining project using geothermal energy.
“Argentina became the first country in the world, with an economy of significant size, to accept Bitcoin as a method of payment. The case of Argentina is very interesting because it is the first country in the world that is putting into practice the fundamentals of the Austrian school of economics, which in turn are the foundations for the adoption of Bitcoin globally,” says Tania Lea, director for Latin America at Azteco.
Brazil presents a triple particularity that makes it a market with very high potential for Bitcoin adoption. It is the largest market in Latin America, has favorable legislation for Bitcoin adoption and has the most advanced national payment system, called PIX, which is already integrated to facilitate the massive adoption of Bitcoin.
Mexico, the second largest market in Latin America, is taking important steps towards mass adoption, including retail adoption.
The President of Colombia recently announced his support for Bitcoin adoption and Venezuela is a market which has been adopting the use of cryptocurrencies for several years due to high inflation and the popularization of the official cryptocurrency Petro, which recently ceased to operate.
Costa Rica has the highest concentration of Bitcoin-accepting merchants per square kilometer globally in the Uvita area.
Chile has a dynamic economy and legislation that favors adoption. Guatemala used Bitcoin technology for the electoral process.
Honduras has municipalities that are developing Bitcoin adoption.
Ecuador and Panama are countries with competitive advantages for Bitcoin adoption because they have a dollarized economy.
Paraguay is an important mining center thanks to its competitive advantages in electricity production and Uruguay is taking the first steps in mining.
Peru has great mining potential and has already started circular economy initiatives.
The synergy among all Latin American countries, combined with the global adoption spurred by ETFs in the United States, positions Latin America as the global epicenter of Bitcoin adoption.
This article is a reprint, originally published on Medium by Tania Lea.
