In Latam, cryptocurrency is becoming a more popular option for investment portfolios. On November 4, the Brazilian tax authority, RFB revealed that cryptocurrency investments reported by taxpayers have set a new record for people who have parked their money in cryptocurrencies.
Nearly 1.5 million people made cryptocurrency investments in September, according to declarations made by independent holders and local exchanges that the institution has received. Compared to the number of taxpayers who disclosed possessing cryptocurrency in August, these 1,490,618 persons reflect an increase of more than 10%.
However, as compared to the figures for September 2021, when the organization only received 424,524 cryptocurrency statements, the surge is even more astonishing. This shows the growth of cryptocurrency investors over the course of a year and the level of acceptance it has received in the nation.
Despite a rise in the number of declarations made on the market, September’s amounts declared were less than those made in August. Cryptocurrency holdings have risen to levels not seen since August 2020. One in five transactions were carried out by women which is a record first for the nation.
As in previous months, bitcoin continues to be the cryptocurrency with the most system-wide transactions, but Tether’s USDT, the dollar-pegged stablecoin, continues to record the highest volume of funds exchanged. While there were over two million bitcoin transactions in September, USDT moved roughly seven times more money, albeit in fewer than 100,000 transactions.
Recent developments aim to capitalise on this popularity and make tether a viable payment and savings option across the nation. In this instance, Smartpay has declared that it will provide USDT services at more than 24,000 ATMs, enabling Brazilians to exchange the token for fiat money.
Due to their unstable fiat currencies and overvalued economies, Latin American nations have been gravitating toward cryptocurrencies. The use of cryptocurrencies for payments in these specific economies is due to their perceived value as an effective hedge against inflation and political unpredictability. These are the aspects that lead to their widespread adoption in developing markets.