Latam Insights: Venezuela’s Crypto Mining Ban, Tether’s $300M Lawsuit

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto news from Latin America over the past week. In this edition, Venezuela upholds a crypto mining ban as power demand spikes, Tether sues Titan Holding in Brazil for $300 million, and stablecoins dominate Peru’s crypto market.

Venezuela Upholds Crypto Mining Ban as Power Demand Hits 9-Year Peak

The government of Venezuela issued a statement reiterating the ongoing ban on digital mining operations, as the country faces peak energy demand, prompting power rationing measures affecting citizens.

The statement stressed that on May 7, the National Electric System experienced a peak demand of 15,579 MW, the highest number in 9 years, attributing this rise to an ongoing heat wave and the continued growth of the country’s economy.

Regarding crypto mining, it states that “the absolute ban on digital mining in the national territory is upheld. Those who illegally use this activity will be sanctioned as the law establishes.” Furthermore, authorities established an oversight plan to fulfill this order.

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Tether Sues Titan Holding in Brazil to Recover $300 Million Defaulted Loan

Tether has introduced a lawsuit in São Paulo to recover $300 million borrowed to Titan Holding, a company part of the Master conglomerate owned by Daniel Vorcaro.

Vorcaro, who was apprehended on Thursday, was also the owner of Banco Master, liquidated by the Central Bank of Brazil in November after a $2.2 billion hole in its reserves was detected.

According to local media, the loan was issued by Tether Investments one year ago, before the Master conglomerate scandal exploded, affecting over 1 million customers. The loan was supposed to be repaid by March 28, 12 months after its issuance.

Nonetheless, until the time of writing, Tether has not received any repayment from Titan Holdings. In the lawsuit, Tether requests “the freezing of financial assets deposited in bank accounts, financial applications, investments, and any other financial assets held by the Defendants Titan, Master Holding, and Master Participações be ordered.”

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90% of Peru’s $28 Billion Crypto Market Is Now Driven by Stablecoins

Daniel Acosta, Latam North General Manager at Binance, recently commented about the relevance of these digital assets in the country, stressing that they were involved in the majority of the crypto transactions originating in Peru.

According to Criptonoticias, Acosta stated that the Peruvian cryptocurrency market has an annual volume of $28 billion, with 90% of these operations involving dollar-pegged stablecoins.

For Acosta, one of the driving forces behind this high level of adoption is the use of these as a dollar proxy for remittances and cross-border payments, as these benefit from the removal of middlemen, reducing costs and increasing the efficiency of these processes.

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