Crypto news

Peso Power! Ponzi Pain! Panama Pays!

BBG News

Right then, settle down and lend an ear (or an eye, seeing as you’re reading). Welcome to Latam Insights, your weekly peek behind the curtains of Latin America’s crypto and economic shenanigans. Think of it as a slightly less dusty version of your grandma’s gossip circle, but with more numbers and fewer knitted doilies. This week, we’ve got Argentina wrestling with its dollars like a tango dancer with two left feet, a Brazilian Ponzi scheme operator who’s going to be VERY popular with the prison librarians 📚, and Panama City deciding to embrace crypto like a tourist in a souvenir shop 🛍️.

Dollar Tamed After a Week of Currency Control Chaos in Argentina 🤪

Turns out, letting go of currency controls in Argentina was a bit like releasing a greased pig at a county fair. The U.S. dollar, apparently, didn’t much like being free and started behaving itself. The peso, bless its cotton socks, actually gained some ground, settling around 1,160 pesos per dollar. Now, whispers are going around that the central bank might be tempted to meddle, buying up dollars to keep the peso from getting TOO strong. President Milei, however, is having none of it – he’s declared they won’t lift a finger until it hits 1,000 pesos. Critics, those ever-cheerful souls, are muttering about “covert devaluation,” because if you can’t find something to complain about, you’re not really trying, are you?

Brazilian Crypto Ponzi Schemer Gets a Whopping 128 Years! 🤯

The Brazilian justice system has finally caught up with the masterminds behind Braiscompany, a crypto Ponzi scheme so large it probably had its own gravitational pull. Turns out, fiddling with other people’s money has consequences – who knew? Three individuals have been found guilty of various crimes, and the judge has sentenced them to a combined total of over 170 years in prison. That’s a lot of prison food 🍲.

Gesana Rayane Silva, Joel Ferreira de Souza, and Victor Augusto Veronez de Souza were all cogs in the Braiscompany machine, each playing their part in making investors’ funds disappear faster than a plate of biscuits at a tea party 🍪.

De Souza, the ringleader, was found guilty of 11 counts of money laundering and received a sentence of 128 years, 5 months, and 28 days. One can only imagine the accounting he will have to do in his head.

Panama City Says “Hola” to Crypto Payments 🇵🇦

Panama City is jumping on the crypto bandwagon, with Mayor Mayer Mizrachi announcing that the municipality will start accepting cryptocurrency for services. The City Council gave it a unanimous thumbs-up, so it’s all systems go!

The plan is to use an authorized bank to convert those tricky crypto payments into good old U.S. dollars for the Mayor’s Office. A sensible approach, really, given the rollercoaster ride that is crypto volatility. Can’t have the city’s finances bouncing around like a rubber ball in a washing machine 🧺.

“My dear City Council has unanimously approved an initiative initiated by the Mayor’s Office, which will allow all citizens to pay their obligations and taxes in crypto,” Mizrachi declared, sounding rather pleased with himself. And fair enough, it’s not every day you see a city embrace digital dosh.

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2025-04-20 14:59

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