Bitso —the financial services company powered by crypto in Latin America— released the first edition of its Crypto Landscape in Latin America: Report H2 2023, in which it reveals the importance that “the use of blockchain and crypto assets have gained, both in the region and locally.”
This x-ray on crypto adoption in Latin America “presents demographic data and comparisons of use that reveal the interests of people in the region regarding the adoption of this technology, as well as specific preferences and utilities according to the needs of each country in which the company operates (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico).”
Bitso turns 10 in 2024 and celebrates “with the presentation of the first edition of the document that will be issued semiannually.”
Among the findings of the report, it stands out that bitcoin remains “the most popular cryptocurrency, with a presence of 53% in the average Bitso portfolio compared to the global average of 50.4%, although there are exceptions, such as the case of Argentina.”
Regarding the purchase behavior “during the second half of 2023 in the region, 38% corresponded to bitcoin and 30% to stablecoins anchored to the US dollar. Some of the relevant data” for each country are:
- Argentina: It is the country that stands out the most in the acquisition of digital dollars compared to the purchase of bitcoin as a response to the political and economic context, which has promoted the acquisition of stablecoins as an alternative to inflation and devaluation. For this reason, 60% of cryptoasset purchases through Bitso correspond to USD (digital dollars) and only 13% to bitcoin.
- Brazil: Ranks first in Latin America with the highest adoption of crypto and ninth worldwide[2]. This territory has been characterized by a highly diversified cryptocurrency portfolio, where altcoins and memecoins are added to the most common currencies, although bitcoin has a large presence in the portfolios and represents 58% of the total holding.
- Colombia: Bitso had a 60% year-on-year growth in people who registered on the platform, there is great interest in the use of stable currencies, which represent 31% of total digital currency purchases. It is also the country with the highest number of women using the platform, who represent 33% of the total.
- Mexico: During 2023 it entered the top 20 countries with the highest adoption of crypto, and showed an 18% year-on-year growth in use of the platform. For clients in Mexico, the importance of bitcoin stands out, which represents 53% of the average portfolio in 2023 and 40% of the purchase preference, 2 percentage points above the regional average. It is also the only country where cryptocurrency XRP has a representative presence due to the transfers enabled by cryptocurrencies between the US-Mexico corridor, it is also the territory with the lowest presence of digital dollars in portfolios, with a presence of only 5%.
Daniel Vogel, Bitso’s Cofounder and CEO, highlights In the introduction of the report:
“Ten years ago, the market cap of the crypto industry was less than US$10B, today we stand at over US$1.5T. Ten years ago our journey began with a vision to harness the power of Bitcoin to create more inclusive and efficient financial systems. Today, Bitso stands at the forefront of this financial revolution, not just as a platform but as a catalyst for change.”
This report seeks to contribute to “a better understanding of the use cases of cryptocurrencies in Latin America, as well as to highlight the behavior and growth in a year of great challenges for the industry, which will undoubtedly help the creation of products based on blockchain. and crypto that continue to solve the specific needs of people in each territory.”