The Brazil Stock Exchange, or B3, has launched the trading of another Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, marking the growing acceptance of the crypto industry in the country. Brazilian asset manager QR Asset Management started trading its Bitcoin ETF with the ticker QBTC11 on the Sao Paulo-based B3 exchange on Wednesday, Cointelegraph Brasil reported. The listing comes several months after the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission approved QR’s Bitcoin ETF in March alongside another crypto-based ETF by Latin American crypto investment firm Hashdex. In contrast to Hashdex’s crypto ETF product, which offers a diversified portfolio to several cryptocurrencies, QR’s ETF product …

Brazilian digital bank Nubank has raised $500 million from Berkshire Hathaway, a multinational holding company run by billionaire Warren Buffett. In an announcement from Nubank on Tuesday, the digital bank said the $500 million investment would be used to continue its international expansion — the company recently launched in Colombia — as well as attract new executives from major tech companies. Nubank reported it has more than 40 million customers in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Nubank CEO David Vélez said the funding would help in “democratizing access to financial services” across Latin America. He said that only half the people …

Gabriel Silva, a Panamanian congressman, is moving to follow in El Salvador’s footsteps by proposing legislation to adopt Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on a national scale. El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele announced during the Miami Bitcoin conference on June 6, that he will submit a bill to lawmakers demanding that Bitcoin be made legal tender. In a June 8 tweet, Silva emphasized the significance of Panama not being left behind by Bukele’s progressive crypto plans, which also includes removing capital gains tax on Bitcoin in El Salvador. According to a rough translation, Silva asserted: “This is important. And Panama cannot …

Increasing numbers of offshore cryptocurrency exchanges are embracing Brazil’s instant payments infrastructure, PIX. On May 28, OKEx announced a strategic partnership with local payments firm CuboPay, allowing it to facilitate Tether ($USDT) purchases in exchange for Brazilian real via PIX. The news follows similar moves from rival exchanges, including Crypto.com peer-to-peer platform Localbitcoins. The integrations come as the Central Bank of Brazil, or BCB, published preliminary guidelines for a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, on May 25. The announcement emphasizes that the CBDC will operate “as an extension of the physical currency,” and is intended to improve the retail …

Hashdex, the Rio de Janeiro-based crypto asset manager with over 4 billion Brazilian real ($765 million) in assets under management, has raised $26 million in a new funding round from investors. According to Bloomberg on Wednesday, venture capital firm Valor Capital Group led the funding round with participation from Coinbase Ventures — the VC arm of American exchange giant Coinbase — and SoftBank. The $26-million capital influx comes as Hashdex is set to pursue its expansion outside Brazil. Indeed, the company is reportedly planning to open as many as 75 new locations across the world before the end of the …

Not all NFT platforms are for newly-rich crypto investors to flaunt their wealth, as one project is proving. As the calls from artists and activists grow louder to reduce the carbon footprint of NFTs, one indie platform on environmentally-friendly proof-of-stake blockchain Tezos has seen a surge in activity and is currently hosting a World Art Day event to raise money for the open-source licensing organization Creative Commons. Hic et Nunc, or H=N, announced the event via a short press release from TQ Tezos, a Tezos ecosystem development foundation not formally associated with H=N. Centered on a theme of “#NFTsforall,” the …

A long-forgotten Bitcoin (BTC) hard fork has surged almost 200% in a week — simply because traders are buying the wrong altcoin. Bitcoin Gold (BTG), a relic from the 2017 forking season, traded at $113 on Friday — the highest price since February 2018 — after 30% daily gains as trading volumes topped $250 million. Bitcoin Gold piggybacks to 173% weekly gains A curious contrast to an otherwise lackluster cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin Gold’s success appears to be not wholly genuine — but also not the fault of its holders or developers. As Cointelegraph reported on Tuesday, a new Bitcoin fund …

Gemini, the U.S.-based crypto exchange and custodian founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has announced it will provide custody services for the forthcoming Bitcoin fund from Brazil’s top investment bank, BTG Pactual. An April 5 announcement indicates Gemini’s subsidiaries, Gemini Custody and Gemini Fund Solutions, will provide customized services for the fund. The post also notes a philosophical alignment between the two firms. Approved last month, BTG Pactual’s Bitcoin 20 Multi-Market Investment Fund became the first fund launched by a Brazilian investment bank that offers exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) when it went live on Monday. The fund invests 20% of …

It is not known if Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin (BTC) alone, if they had help from others, or whether they themself are just a pseudonym for a developer collective. However, after the launch of Bitcoin on Jan. 9, 2009, Nakamoto worked to improve the software by receiving feedback and opinions from several collaborators. Among them is Dustin D. Trammell, one of the first cypherpunks to download the official version of Bitcoin and mine the cryptocurrency. Trammell is a computer security research scientist and a specialist in virtual security. In addition to talking to Satoshi and suggesting improvements to Bitcoin, he …

The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission, or CVM, approved two cryptocurrency ETFs this week — one 100% Bitcoin and the other composed of five cryptocurrencies, in addition to Bitcoin (BTC). For QR Asset Management, manager of the Bitcoin-only ETF, the product could accelerate the launch of a similar product in the United States, since the CVM, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, are part of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, or IOSCO. Both ETFs will be traded on the Brazil's Stock Exchange, or B3. According to Brazil Journal, two of the country's main banks, Itaú …

2020 will be remembered as one of the most difficult years for contemporary societies: Countries and entire populations have faced lockdowns and economic crises, financial markets still suffer from the severe impacts of the economic recession, and more than 2 million lives have been taken by COVID-19. Despite this, other sectors have been impacted in other ways during the severe global health crisis — which still seems far from over, even though vaccines are beginning to be distributed in wealthy countries. Economies have radically digitalized, hedge assets have attracted mistrust, and the crypto market has had one of its most …

Brazil’s largest Bitcoin exchange, Mercado Bitcoin, has announced plans to expand across Latin America. Chief executive Reinaldo Rabelo named Chile, Mexico, and Argentina as among the jurisdictions it will expand into first, comparing the “regulatory culture” in those countries to Brazil’s. According to Useful Tulips, Mexico is currently the fourth-largest Latin American country by peer-to-peer Bitcoin trade volume, with Chile ranking fifth, and Argentina ranking seventh. The strong P2P trade volume suggest there may be significant demand from local traders that is not met by centralized platforms. The announcement comes alongside news of an investment round that saw Mercado Bitcoin …