Latam Insights — Argentina Settles IMF Payment in Yuan; Brazilian CBDC to Be Launched in 2024

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue, Argentina settles part of its $44 billion debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) using the Chinese yuan, Central Bank of Brazil officials estimate the Brazilian central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be available by 2024, and Bitfinex launches a Latam-focused P2P platform.

Argentina Settles Part of IMF Payment in Chinese Yuan

Argentina keeps implementing the Chinese yuan as part of its national and international economy. Besides adopting it as a recognized currency to open bank accounts due to the limited supply of U.S. dollars in the economy, the country is now using it to settle debts with international institutions. According to the state news agency Telam, the Central Bank of Argentina disbursed part of a $2.7 billion payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) using the Chinese yuan.

$1.7 billion were paid using Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), an international reserve asset created by the IMF, and $1 billion was disbursed using part of a swap line provided by the Chinese government. With China’s help, Argentina fulfilled its obligations to the IMF without touching its dwindling dollar-denominated reserves.

Argentinian government officials will travel to Washington to negotiate an agreement to reprogram the remaining payments of the $44 billion Argentina owes the organization.

Brazilian CBDC to Be Launched in 2024

While the Brazilian digital currency is now entering a new pilot test phase, experts are speculating about when it will be launched for general audiences. At Fetraban Tech, a fintech event, two different experts gave their predictions on the timeline of the launch of the Brazilian central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Larissa Moreira, Itau Unibanco’s CBDC coordinator, declared that the specs of the digital real could be determined in February as the team is currently studying how its architecture can be configured to comply with existing privacy and data protection regulations. However, Fabio Araujo, Central Bank of Brazil’s digital real project coordinator, noted that the population might start to use the product in 2024.

Bitfinex Launches P2P Platform in Venezuela, Argentina, and Colombia

Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange, announced the launch of a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform directed to customers in Venezuela, Argentina, and Colombia. The platform will allow the customers to trade bitcoin, usdt, xaut (Tether Gold), and ether directly with other traders, using different payment options.

Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex, stated:

By offering a reliable and efficient platform for P2P token trading, we are empowering our customers to engage with the marketplace in a way that affords maximum convenience based on their needs and preferences.

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