The cryptocurrency ecosystem is going through a complex year-end. With an abrupt drop in the value of currencies and an uncertain future, it faces the challenge of accommodating itself in the face of its marked volatility.
However, the blockchain technology and its possibilities in the financial world are unstoppable. The applications of the block chain spread at an accelerated pace between different industries and give life to a wide range of companies.
One of them is Buda.com. Born in Chile in 2015, she now announced her arrival in Argentina. It is one of the most important cryptocurrency exchanges in the region, according to the CoinMarketCap site.
"In 2014 I got together with my partners to think about financial services that we could create using technology, such as international remittances or means of payment for those who do not have access to credit cards, and we realized that for all these ideas we needed an exchange "Guillermo Torrealba, CEO and co-founder of Buda.com, explains to iProUP.
"Since there was not one of the quality that gave us confidence, the idea of ââbuilding Buda.com was born," he adds.
With an initial investment of US $ 600,000 (private) and US $ 100,000 of government contributions (States of Chile and Colombia), the volume transacted up to now within the platform exceeds US $ 100 million, with records of US $ 50 million only in December 2017. And it already has more than 100,000 active users in Chile alone.
"Our most typical customer is who wants to keep their cryptocurrencies with us and settle them at any time, that is, one, two or three years later," says Torrealba.
This platform has a differential: it is the first in Latin America - and third in the world - to incorporate Lightning Network, a technology that provides the Bitcoin network with scalability.
This means that it allows millions of transactions per second to be made at minimum costs, so the cryptocurrency achieves a payment processing speed similar to that of credit cards.
In this sense, Torrealba says: "It is an essential tool for the massification" of digital currencies, since it offers virtually free and instantaneous transactions.
Regional expansion
Today, Buda.com is one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in Latin America, with presence in Chile, Colombia and Peru. It allows to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether and other virtual currencies.
His recent landing in Argentina is not accidental, but rather a long-term strategy to consolidate in the region. At this point, the CEO clarifies that both Chile and Argentina have an important market to consolidate, but in the latter they see "more knowledge in the community of fans of cryptocurrencies".
According to the specialist's perspective, this is due to the frequent crises that the country went through. "Bitcoin has been more useful in Argentina for the economic instability it has gone through," he argues.
With this present scenario, its goal for 2019 is to establish itself in the country as one of the main investment alternatives.
"We intend to continue incorporating new cryptocurrencies and markets by 2019, as well as continuing to push technologies such as Lightning Network, which we believe may be differentiating in the future of Bitcoin", explains Sebastián Resano, Country Manager Argentina of Buda.com, to iProUP.
Bitcoin ATMs: a reality in Argentina
In Argentina, regulations have been made more flexible with respect to ATMs, which has facilitated the installation of units that process virtual currencies.
As anticipated iProUP, Athena Bitcoin installed the first ATM designed to exchange digital currencies, predicting that these machines will soon proliferate in Buenos Aires.
Matias Goldenhorn, director of the company for Latin America, said that initially they will install 12 ATMs in the City and then go on growing steadily.
These units will operate with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash.
A robust ecosystem
According to Bitex estimates, the total market that operates in Bitcoins in the country ranges between 200,000 and 300,000 users.
Today, Buenos Aires ranks as the second market with the highest concentration of this virtual currency worldwide. Thanks to its decentralized and open model (which does not depend on banks or governments), more and more people are turning to this market.
"Everyone can participate in this market," explained Manuel Beaudroit, co-founder and CMO of Bitex.la, an Argentine company that provides financial services on the bitcoin blockchain to buy this currency and make payments.
Local companies, attentive to this adoption boom (which was not affected by the swings that crypto firms have suffered throughout 2018), have carried out bets of different caliber related to trade based on digital currencies.
In October, Garbarino Viajes became the first tourism company to accept bitcoins as a means of payment. It did so through an agreement with Bitex, which offers various services linked to blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
In this way, when the buyer makes the decision about the trip he will make and arrives at the means of payment section, he will find the chance to pay with BTC.
"At that time, the system will give the exchange rate of the cryptocurrency and indicate exactly what amount to pay," said Fabián Schiavo, general manager of Garbarino Viajes.
In the company they made the decision to move forward with the inclusion of the digital currency as part of a broader strategy, aimed at incorporating blockchain technology in the transactional process, since it stands as the safest alternative for this type of operation.
"We started with Bitcoin because everything related to blockchain is going to revolutionize the market and we had to start somewhere," the executive added.
On the other hand, Argentine users of Ripio, a local firm that provides different services related to bitcoins, can now transfer their money available in Mercado Pago to their digital wallet instantly.
It is the first alliance of Mercado Libre with a cryptocurrency company.
Thanks to direct integration, money transfers between both platforms are carried out instantaneously.
Once accredited, users of Ripio (more than 200,000) can use their balance immediately to acquire bitcoins, perform a cell phone recharge, among many other options.
The initiatives do not end there. The bitcoin exchange platform, SatoshiTango, presented a service that will allow its users to exchange BTC for cash, using the RapiPago platform.
According to Matías Bari, CEO of the startup, you can change cryptocurrencies and obtain Argentine pesos at any of the 4,000 RapiPago locations set up in the country.
In this regard, he indicated that the maximum amount available is 10,000 Argentine pesos. To access the service, the user must sell their bitcoins from their account and select RapiPago as a withdrawal. With the order number and your document, you can extract the money at any place in the chain.
Its exchange platform already has more than 80,000 active monthly users and allows you to buy and sell bitcoins even in dollars or euros.
A scrambled year
With a turbulent year close, the price of Bitcoin plummeted almost 80%. However, in the crypto ecosystem they are optimistic, because they consider that volatility is typical of an asset that has been transiting its initial stage.
"The price of Bitcoin has always been volatile, which is largely explained because it is a financial asset that is still immature," the CEO said.
He also stressed the importance of looking at the set of innovative solutions, the growth of their ecosystem and not so much the price.
"Perfectly, you can choose a temporality of two years and it will be observed that the price of Bitcoin has increased more than 100%", highlighted Resano.
And closed: "This currency is more alive than ever, but not for those who only look at the price, but for those who focus on development and technology."
Confidence in digital currencies is full. We have to see if the market, technology and society itself are getting more and more frequent so that 2019.
