2022 will be remembered for its strong bear market, for being the year with the most crypto hacks to date, and for the fall of FTX, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and Terra (LUNA). According to Chainalysis, a company dedicated to delivering information related to blockchain technology, cryptocurrency adoption has declined since the second quarter of 2021. However, the Global Index Score they share in their report The 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, shows that interest in cryptoassets increased quite a bit when compared to 2019. The document shows that Latin America is one of the fastest growing crypto markets in the world, along with the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: Chainalysis.
As detailed in the press release of LABITCONF, the most important event on Bitcoin in Latin America and whose tenth edition was held in November of this year, Chainalysis has also reported that the region presents a 40% growth of the entire volume of transactions made with cryptocurrencies in one year.
Which countries have stood out in 2022?
Brazil ranks seventh in the Top 20 of the firm’s index, Argentina thirteenth, Colombia fifteenth and Ecuador eighteenth. In any case, it is important to mention the growth and interest that has arisen in Peru during 2022.
For example, the report published by Sherlock Communications revealed that the adoption of cryptocurrencies increased by 1,100% in the first months of the year. For its part, Statista’s Global Consumer Survey states that 16% of cryptocurrency users in the region are in Peru.
In other aspects, the initiatives that different Latin American politicians have presented to create a regulatory framework in their jurisdiction stand out. One of them is Indira Kempis from Mexico, who seeks to promote financial inclusion and the adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) in her country.
Congresswoman Johana Obando, from Costa Rica, also seeks to promote the adoption and regulate the use of cryptoassets through the Cryptoassets Market Law (MECA) project, as they are an opportunity to reactivate the economy.
Entrevista a Johana Obando Bonilla, Diputada de Costa Rica| Proyecto Ley de Mercado de Criptoactivos
In the case of Argentina, different Web3 projects have emerged and consolidated in the region, such as Lemon, Belo and Enigma.art. And because of inflation, the DAI stablecoin has positioned itself strongly.
In terms of remittances, countries such as Venezuela and El Salvador have resorted to cryptocurrencies as an alternative to send money to other countries quickly and at low cost, in addition to using Bitcoin (BTC) and other currencies as a payment system.
Crypto events arrive in Latin America
While global interest and adoption of cryptocurrencies has declined since 2021, the number of events that took place this year in the region has been lumpy.
Among all of them, probably the most important was the Ethereum Devcon held in Bogota, the capital of Colombia. During October and the months leading up to it, countless side events were held in the coffee-growing country, but also in Chile, Argentina and Peru. After the Devcon, more events were held in the area.
Argentina also hosted Decoded 2022 in Buenos Aires, the most relevant conference on Polkadot (a 0-layer blockchain project led by Gavin Woods, one of the co-founders of Ethereum). For its part, Caracas Blockchain Week was held in Venezuela, which from November 2 to 5 brought together the most important players in the region.
Blockchaincon Latam: the most awaited crypto event in Peru
On June 8th-10th, 2023, in Lima, Peru, Blockchaincon will be held. For two days, we will gather the brightest minds and developers of Web3 from Latin America and the world.
Currently, more than 40 speakers are already confirmed, and we have the support of different communities, media and industry leaders.