New blockchain initiatives land in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras

Contxto – In light of blockchain’s increasing popularity and buzz-wordiness, the past few weeks have been rather exciting for the emerging sector.

Based on recent developments, it’s reassuring to see Central American countries enter the conversation. Lately, the region continues to gain blockchain traction with recent initiatives in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras. 

Cryptocurrency in Guatemala

Owned by Japanese company Remixpoint Inc., BITPoint Latam recently premiered in the Guatemalan market. Now with this cryptocurrency exchange, citizens have the ability to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, among other monetary units. 

With ambitious growth plans, the subsidiary started in Panama and Peru in 2018, later expanding to Ecuador and Argentina. Outside of Latin America, it is also active in Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, as well as South Korea. 

According to a member of BITPoint Latin America’s board of directors, cryptocurrency initiatives have massive market potential in the region. 

“Already 100 million people in Latin America can invest securely in Bitcoin and the world’s main crypto assets through BITPoint,” said Stefan Krautwald. “Our goal is that in the short term, anyone in the region can have crypto assets in their investment portfolio.” 

Cryptocurrency in Costa Rica

Beginning today, Costa Rica will also host the new Obsidiam cryptocurrency exchange platform. Preparing for a successful launch, the company ensures availability across Latin America, not to mention 15 days free of commission. 

Motivated to be reliable, modern, secure and transparent, Obsidiam will provide blockchain-powered transactions without the use of intermediaries, like banks. Through the tool, users will be able to maintain virtual ledgers of every digital asset. 

For added incentive, the platform will also award new subscribers with up to US$1,500 worth of prizes throughout October.

Blockchain in Honduras 

Also a few weeks ago, the GrainChain signed a commercial agreement with players from the Honduran coffee industry. Alongside this company, players from the national supply chain will be able better able to trace the origins of coffee beans throughout the country.

Specifically, the U.S. platform provides partners with the software they need to monitor the industry, ensuring newfound levels of transparency and reliability. Moving forward, it plans to track 2 percent of exported coffee, which in total amasses to about 7 million bags per year. 

Part of this also involves a pilot program among 20,000 reported coffee growers. Depending on the outcomes, more will be in store for 2020. Equipped with smart contracts via GrainChain, coffee farmers can ultimately ensure fairer and more stable payments.

Moreover, this system intends to collaborate with financial institutions to provide better loan processes to SMEs and farmers throughout the Central American country. 

“They wanted to find a solution on how to lend money to their farmers,” said GrainChain CEO Luis Macías in regards to working with Honduran banks. “But even if banks guaranteed loans, they still had trouble finding a way to do it.”

Recent blockchain news

Just the other day, Bitso raised an undisclosed amount of funds to expand to Brazil and Argentina. Not long ago, Peru also announced plans to bolster its ports with state-of-the-art logistics. 

-JA