LatAm splits: El Salvador tokenizes SMEs, Brazil eyes BTC reserves, Argentina curbs wallet wages.
Summary
- El Salvador targets $100m in tokenized SME funding via COIN–Stakiny, using EVM tech, biometric wallets, and CNAD oversight for equity tokens.
- Brazil’s RESBit bill would let the state buy BTC up to 5% of FX reserves, store in cold wallets, and accept BTC for taxes with income-tax breaks on digital assets.
- Argentina’s Senate dropped digital wallet salary deposits after banking lobbying, keeping wages in bank accounts despite strong wallet usage amid inflation and past freezes.
Three Latin American countries have adopted contrasting approaches to cryptocurrency regulation and adoption in recent months, according to legislative and government actions across the region.
Latin American countries pivoting towards crypto
El Salvador announced plans to launch a $100 million investment project using digital tokens to support local small and medium-sized businesses. The initiative represents a strategic alliance between Corporación Infinito and Stakiny, designed to connect domestic enterprises with international financial markets through tokenized equity instruments.
Stakiny, a platform seeking approval from the National Commission on Digital Assets, will provide the technical infrastructure to tokenize shares of private companies. The system combines traditional shareholder agreements with blockchain-recorded digital tokens, enabling real-time management of capitalization tables, dividend distribution, governance events, and secondary trading. The platform operates on an EVM-compatible network and is accessible through a biometric mobile wallet.
In Brazil, lawmakers are considering legislation that would establish a Sovereign Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, known as RESBit, and eliminate taxes on Bitcoin earnings. Congressman Luiz Gastão presented the proposal, Bill 4,501/2024, to the Economic Development Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
The legislation would allow the government to gradually acquire Bitcoin up to five percent of the nation’s foreign exchange reserves. Management of the assets would be shared between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance, with storage in cold wallets. The bill would permit the use of Bitcoin to settle federal taxes and remove current requirements for brokers and investors to document all Bitcoin transactions. The proposal includes a 100% income-tax exemption on revenues from Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Argentina took a different path when lawmakers removed provisions that would have allowed workers to receive wages through direct deposit into digital wallets. The clause was eliminated from a labor reform proposal after President Javier Milei’s party agreed to drop the section to secure broader support for the legislation.
The decision followed opposition from Argentina’s traditional financial institutions, which contacted senators to voice concerns about the digital wallet payment option. A survey conducted by the central bank several years ago showed that 47% of the population holds a bank account.
Digital wallet platforms including Mercado Pago, Modo, Ualá, and Lemon have gained users in Argentina amid currency instability and dollar shortages. The country has experienced recurring inflation and periodic restrictions on accessing funds from bank accounts, including the 2001 “corralito” banking freeze.
The three nations‘ varying approaches reflect broader experimentation across Latin America with cryptocurrency regulation, reserve management, and financial inclusion policies.