Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto news from Latin America over the past week. In this week’s edition, discover how Venezuela might be linked to Trump’s viral “Gasolina” dance, Brazil’s crypto industry vows to battle stablecoin taxation, and Lemon launches the first bitcoin-backed card in Argentina.
President Trump has celebrated one of his administration’s goals, to bring oil and gas prices down for all Americans, with a particular move.
The official White House account posted a video on Tiktok featuring Donald Trump dancing to the rhythm of “Gasolina,” a Latin song released in 2004 by Puerto Rican singer Daddy Yankee, whose title translates to “gasoline” in Spanish. With the motto “promises made, promises kept,” the video states that 43 U.S. states now have gas prices under $3 per gallon.
While some experts claim that Venezuelan oil returning to the U.S. market would not make a change, others believe that prices will be susceptible to any influx. “Prices are set on the margin, and small imbalances in volume can lead to large shifts in prices,” said Rick Joswick, Head of Near-Term Oil Analytics at S&P Global Energy.
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The issue of stablecoin taxation in Brazil and the potential drawbacks this can bring to the crypto industry are in the spotlight again.
Julia Rosin, the recently elected President of Abcripto, the Brazilian Association of Cryptoeconomics, has recently taken a public stance against the establishment of a financial tax on stablecoins transactions.
Rosin stated that if the Brazilian government decides to apply this kind of tax via decree, the association would sue due to the unconstitutionality of this action. According to Abcripto, taxing cryptocurrencies would equate them to foreign currencies, opposing current regulations passed by the Brazilian Congress.
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Lemon, a local exchange with over 5 million users, has announced its entry into the crypto credit market, releasing a bitcoin-backed card that will allow users to access credit options without selling their BTC.
In a press release, the exchange claimed that this would be the first BTC-backed credit card release in the country, allowing users to spend up to 1 million Argentine pesos (nearly $700) by depositing 0.01 BTC as collateral.
In a second phase, users will be able to set collateral and spending limit figures, making the card a more versatile savings and spending tool.
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