Latam Insights: Argentina Reaches Zero Inflation, Central Bank of Bolivia Unbans Bitcoin

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: Argentina reached zero inflation in food and beverages in June, the Central Bank of Bolivia unbans bitcoin, and several employees of the Paraguayan power company were allegedly involved in illegal bitcoin mining operations.

Argentina Records First Week of Zero Inflation in 30 Years; Milei Claims He’s Redefining Economic Theory

Argentina is reaping the first benefits of its fiscal policies regarding inflation. According to data from Econometrica, a private consulting firm, the country reached an economic achievement, registering zero inflation for food and beverages during June’s third week. The research took prices of over 8,000 articles in several online stores and found that prices didn’t change compared to ones collected the week before.

This milestone indicates that President Javier Milei has been slowly taming inflation levels, which have been diminishing since he took office and started applying restrictive economic and fiscal policies. Econometrica estimates that monthly inflation numbers for this category might reach 2.4% in June.

Nonetheless, this is just a small victory for Milei’s administration. Argentina is still one of the countries with the highest inflation in the world, registering an interannual price increase of 276,4%.

Central Bank of Bolivia Unbans Bitcoin From the Nation’s Financial Ecosystem

The Central Bank of Bolivia has taken a historic step in enabling the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the nation, lifting a blanket ban that kept financial institutions from serving crypto-related transactions. With Resolution N°082/2024, issued on Tuesday, the bank lifts any prohibition related to these assets, opening the door for the intermediation of institutions to complete payments to acquire these assets.

Resolution N°144/2020, issued in December 2020, banned financial institutions from using, authorizing, or intermediating payments to acquire or sell these assets, effectively blocking crypto from entering Bolivia’s markets. At the time, the bank stated that citizens should “avoid using, marketing, and negotiating” digital assets, “since they are issued anonymously, and in cases of fraud, scams, or losses to their holders, there are no guarantees to protect the investment.”

National Power Administration Employees Allegedly Involved in Setting up Illegal Bitcoin Mining Farms in Paraguay

State officials would be participating in organizing and deploying illegal bitcoin mining farms in Paraguay. According to local reports, seven engineers employed by the National Power Administration (ANDE) in Paraguay would be involved in organizing illegal connections to power bitcoin operations in Paraguay.

Felix Sosa, President of the ANDE, clarified that the inner audit unit of the institution is verifying and organizing a probe in the organization. All related information is being delivered to the national prosecutor’s office for further investigation. Nonetheless, Sosa stated that ANDE employees were not in charge of executing electrical connections since some time ago, delegating this function to third-party contractors.

ANDE has been in a battle against illegal bitcoin mining connections since December, having disconnected over 70 farms siphoning unmetered power directly from the grid. #Write2Earn #Write2Earn

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