It’s important to note that Latin America, however improving in the recent years, still has 45.6% of its adult population not integrated into the financial system. This translates into approximately 207 million people with no access to a bank account or financial entity. This is due to multiple factors including mainly undeclared work, unemployment and general marginalization.

On the other hand, 55% of its adult population declared to have access to a cell phone and internet connection. Meaning there is a potential digital financial inclusion for more than 40 million people and growing, since internet access has rapidly increased in the last few years in the region.

Why this boring numbers and percentages? Because blockchain and FinTech development could help this tragically underdeveloped yet rich continent reach its true potential. I’ve been investigating each country to see what is being done as some have been adapting and innovating bringing forward interesting projects, while others, well … not so much.

Here’s a brief overview on the legal standing of crypto in each country and some remarkable ventures, if applicable.

The pioneers💪

Argentina

No official regulations regarding cryptocurrencies, but positive prospects and interest on the side of regulators.

SystemaD — Is a project to financially include vulnerable lower classes of the population by providing a digital identity to securely make financial and non-financial transactions. The objective is to help them get a transparent and secure social and financial identity.

Blockchain Federal Argentina — Multiservice platform with the aim to improve public bureaucratic processes and standardize private applications of the technology. It’s scheduled to be up and running this year.

Brasil

No official regulations regarding cryptocurrencies. There is a legislative bill project in development where cryptocurrencies are treated similarly to air mile programs referring to them as “payment arrangements”.

Brazil is constantly fighting with Mexico to become Latin America’s biggest crypto-market and fintech sandbox. It reportedly has 1.4 million crypto exchange users with Foxbit being the biggest Brazilian crypto exchange. Several banks are currently investigating blockchain to enhance their existing infrastructure.

Marina Silva — the pre-presidential candidate is using a blockchain technology based app to bring transparency into donations to her campaign. Through this app not only are the money amounts donated registered and public, but also the information about the person making the donation. This is especially important in Latin America as corruption is a common practice that exists on all levels of society and is magnified in Brazil being the richest and most populated nation in South America.

Chile

No regulations yet, but regulators are currently crafting a bill spanning from cryptocurrencies to crowdfunding, smart contracts and regulatory flexibility for new projects. The regulators’ aim is to insert themselves on what is being called the 4th industrial revolution as a leading player in the continent.

There is a range of different projects to integrate blockchain into all sorts of areas, from health with a blockchain-prescription system, to public entities and financial institutions as a way to improve security and productivity.

Outstandingly, the Ministry of Energy is about to start using the Ethereum blockchain to track and record energy data such as prices and storage, and also to elevate the security of all records.

Colombia

The Colombian Central Bank advised investors against cryptocurrencies and the Colombian Superintendency of Finance banned financial entities from safeguarding, investing in, intermediating or operating with virtual currencies in 2014. Despite their efforts, Colombia is one of the top 4 countries in Latin America with the highest blockchain operation volume.

Cycle — Project hopes to rationalize and redistribute excess energy not used by homes or communities and exchange it to other homes or communities for tokens.

Costa Rica

No clear regulations yet but generally positive prospects.

Ecolones — A recycling reward system in which you exchange recyclable materials for tokens. With the tokens, users can gain access, through the platform, to promotions, sustainable products and services or experiences offered by private companies.

Avalon Life — Runs several self-sustaining solar and geothermal power alt-coin mining farms in the country.

México

The “Ley fintech” law was recently approved and is now regulating crypto enterprises, focused on crowdfunding, crypto assets, and APIs, as well as introducing a sandbox to test regulatory environments. Crypto transactions by companies need to be approved by the Central Bank and comply with the law stipulations.

México has the 2nd most fintech startups and companies in Latin America with 334 according to latest reports. It’s a huge market with encouraging potential, for example one of the Mexican exchanges, Bitso, has 500,000 users.

Smart Tenders — A public initiative that aims to help the government to offer open and highly reliable public tenders, adding the factor of citizen participation and evaluation and the use of smart contracts to ensure that the winning bidder is the one with the greatest social benefit.

Agrocoin — The startup enabled to tokenization of the chile pepper habanero via Agrocoin, a token representing a piece of land of the chile plantation where token holders get every four months a share of the revenues from the chile harvests.

Paraguay

No regulations or official statement from the Paraguayan Central Bank. Anti-money-laundering entity warns against cryptocurrencies, but recognizes possibilities and strengths to be developed with cryptocurrencies and fintech.

It seems Paraguay has an interesting future for mining since energy is cheap and plentiful. Several Brazilian mining companies are moving to Paraguay and a local mining company hopes the country can provide 20% of the extraction of major cryptocurrencies in the international market by 2020.

Panamá

No regulations or official statements on cryptocurrencies but authorities seem interested in integrating blockchain technology and promoting fintech investments in the country.

Panama is starting its first government-sponsored sandbox project to see how blockchain could interact with banks and governmental entities, if successful they want to replicate the model with different projects and help it shape the regulations.

Uruguay

No regulations yet, but the government formed a committee for developing a bill for crypto assets and blockchain related companies.

Power ledgers — Partly publicly and privately funded blockchain consultancy company. First blockchain company to be subsidized with public funds in the country.

ZirconTech — Developing company also partly sponsored by public funds implementing a blockchain based UBI device to determine the type of driving insurance according to the driver’s behavior behind the wheel.

The hesitant ones🤷📈📉

Bolivia

Cryptocurrencies were officially banned by the Central Bank in 2014. Despite the ban, some private banks are still investigating blockchain to implement it in their technology stack, their interest lies particularly in security enhancements and smart contracts.

Cuba

No clear information about regulations. The government controls the internet and any financial transactions. Cuba is one of the least crypto friendly nations in the region.

Some emigrants send back bitcoin to relatives through whatever exchange is available since most exchanges are banned.

Ecuador

Cryptocurrencies were banned in 2014 by the Central Bank. The government tried to create a state-sponsored digital currency to stop people from using non-regulated cryptocurrencies — without much success. One year and a half later the country’s self-issued cryptocurrency represented 0,002 % of the economy’s total liquidity.

El Salvador

The Central Bank advised against using cryptocurrencies, but did not ban them. Regulators did, however, ban ICOs.

Guatemala

The Central Bank advised against using cryptocurrencies, but did not ban them. Cryptos are commonly used by emigrants to send money back to their families who are still in the country.

Honduras

The Central Bank advised against using cryptocurrencies, but did not ban them.

Nearly 80 percent of the country’s privately held land is either untitled or improperly so. Land acquisitions for mining, dams, tourism and other developments are often enforced through violence.

Because of this, they the country tried to collaborate with a US blockchain company to build a land title registry to provide transparency and clarity on land ownership. Unfortunately, the currently the project is stuck.

Nicaragua

No regulations or official government statements regarding cryptocurrencies. They accept bitcoin in certain tourist and resort establishments.

Perú

Not regulated but open to exploring blockchain technology. The Central Bank informed investors about potential risks.

Dominican Republic

The Central Bank advised investors about cryptocurrency investments, but no specific regulations were issued.

The odd one out🤔

Venezuela

Cryptocurrencies and mining are illegal. The only recognized cryptocurrency is Petro, an official oil-reserve-backed token.

Venezuela has basically banned all cryptocurrencies in order to monopolize its market with the Petro, as an attempt to bypass international sanctions, mainly from the USA.

On that note, and as they are currently battling one of the deepest economic recessions in recent history, they are set to launch a new fiat currency aligned to the “Petro” in August 2018 and are looking to open a public central cryptocurrencies bank to centralize it.

To conclude 🌎

Blockchain, with its secure and public ledger, seems like the perfect solution for a region that is in dire need of transparency and decentralization. Hopefully sooner rather than later, fellow Latinos will see this and collective efforts and resources will be directed into its development. Where there’s a will there’s a way.