Latam Insights: Bolivia Sells Gold for Dollars, Argentina Bans Fintech Crypto, Fitch Upgrades El Salvador’s Credit Rating

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue, Bolivia passes a law to sell gold for dollars, the Central Bank of Argentina bans fintech companies from using crypto, and Fitch improves El Salvador’s credit rating. Bolivia Passes Law … Read more

Russia Projected to Start Purchasing Chinese Yuan for Its Foreign Reserves as Soon as May

Russia will start to purchase Chinese yuan for its international reserves as soon as this month, according to reports from Russian economists. While analysts state that the purchases will be small and symbolic in the beginning, these will supposedly demonstrate a turnaround in the economy of the country. Russia to Purchase Chinese Yuan for Reserves … Read more

Global Reserves Held in US Dollars Fell to Less Than 50% — Official States It Has Become a ‘Toxic’ Currency

The percentage of reserves held in U.S. dollars by central banks has fallen to less than half of the global total of reserves, according to a note from Eurizon SLJ Asset Management. The note states that the recent sanctions enacted by the U.S. against the Bank of Russia have eroded trust in the dollar as … Read more

Dollar Dominance Fading Amid Growing China Trade, Russia Sanctions Risks, Ray Dalio Says

Fewer nations are willing to hold the U.S. dollar as America’s share in the global economy becomes smaller while China’s role in international trade expands, billionaire Ray Dalio noted. The founder of the world’s largest hedge fund also said that Western sanctions on Russia have highlighted new risks of keeping dollar assets. ‘Dollar Is Debt,’ … Read more

The Fall of Medici Bank: Lessons on Fractional Reserve Banking From 15th Century Italy

Amid the banking chaos of the 21st century, some are looking back more than 600 years ago, to the Medici Bank — one of the most powerful banks of its time. It established its business and became one of the most respected banks in Europe during its prime, and the prominent Italian family of bankers … Read more

Binance Experiences Significant BTC, ETH, and Stablecoin Withdrawals Following CFTC Lawsuit

After the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Binance for alleged violations of trading and derivatives rules, a significant amount of cryptocurrency was withdrawn from the exchange. Data from analytics provider Nansen shows $400 million in Ethereum-based funds were withdrawn in 24 hours, and 3,655 bitcoin worth more than $99 million were withdrawn over the … Read more

Analyst Predicts Gold Prices Might Exceed $8,000 in the Next Decade as Central Banks Lose Confidence in Foreign Currency

Jan Nieuwenhuijs, a gold market analyst, has predicted that gold might exceed prices of $8,000 during the next decade, as the current Ukraine-Russia war, and the worldwide battle against inflation, shift the preference of central banks for foreign currencies to gold. The proposed long-term price model shows that each troy ounce of the metal might … Read more

USDC Stablecoin Nears Parity With USD After Fed’s Bailout Announcement

The stablecoin USDC has nearly regained parity with the U.S. dollar after rising just above $0.99 on March 12, 2023, at 7:20 p.m. Eastern Time. The stablecoin jumped back to the $0.99 range after the U.S. Federal Reserve revealed it would bail out depositors of California’s Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and New York’s Signature Bank. … Read more