Latin America’s Thriving Web3 Ecosystems: A Closer Look at Four Leaders 🌎🚀
Latin America may have a relatively small crypto-economy compared to other regions, but it is certainly not lacking in adoption and awareness of cryptocurrencies. In fact, three Latin American countries—Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico—are ranked in the top 20 of Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index. Moreover, more than half of consumers in the region have made purchases with digital currencies, according to research from Circle. Alongside the booming exchange and payments sector featuring crypto giants like Mercado Libre and Bitso, Latin America also boasts a thriving group of home-grown Web3 ecosystems that cater to the specific needs of LATAM users. Let’s take a closer look at four of the region’s leaders:
Patex: Bridging the Gap Between Regulators and Users
Established in 2014, Patex has evolved from being an exchange to becoming a comprehensive blockchain solution for the LATAM region. Patex Network comprises a Layer 2 blockchain, crypto exchange, wallet, and educational platform. The blockchain, developed for issuing and trading CBDCs and regulated cryptocurrencies, is a custom implementation forked from Optimism. C-Patex, the exchange platform from which the Patex ecosystem originated, boasts an established user base of over 100,000, with trading volumes of approximately $10 million in a 30-day period.
In 2023, Patex secured a $10 million strategic investment from Acura Capital, one of Brazil’s largest investment firms, leading to a project valuation of $100 million. The project also earned the title of “Best LATAM Blockchain Ecosystem of the Year 2023” at the prestigious Future Innovation Summit in Dubai. The mainnet token, $PATEX, is set to be released on three decentralized launchpad platforms over a week at the end of February, beginning with WePad on February 27, followed by DAOMaker from February 28, and finally ChainGPT Pad on February 29.
Rootstock: The Bitcoin-Compatible Smart Contract Platform
Rootstock, formerly known as RSK, is an EVM-compatible smart contract platform built as a Bitcoin side chain. It operates through merge-mining, meaning it shares the same proof-of-work consensus as Bitcoin, which ensures its robustness. Over the years, Rootstock has developed its infrastructure and offers ready-made solutions for implementing payments, identity services, and marketplace services on its platform. Additionally, it has its own decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, home to projects such as stablecoin Money on Chain, DeFi platform Sovryn, and cross-chain wallet Liquidity.
A notable milestone for Rootstock was the recent integration of Uniswap, which further solidified the connection between the Bitcoin blockchain and the Ethereum ecosystem.
Xcapit: Blockchain and AI Solutions for Latin American Markets
Xcapit is a financial services ecosystem that leverages blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to provide tailored solutions for Latin American markets. Its offerings include a wallet, credit processing and lending infrastructure, and a tokenization platform. Xcapit takes pride in being the only crypto wallet recognized as a “digital public good” by the Digital Public Goods Alliance and is also a member of UNICEF’s innovation fund. The project has won various accolades, including the Santander X Global Challenge and establishing partnerships with universities to educate students about blockchain technology and digital finance.
LaChain: Latin America’s Collaborative Project
LaChain, launched in 2023, is a Layer 1 network developed in collaboration by a consortium of Latin American blockchain companies, including Ripio, a prominent payments provider, and stablecoin issuer Num Finance. After launching last summer, Ripio introduced its US-dollar pegged stablecoin, UXD, on the LaChain network, catering to the demand for a stable solution amidst high inflation rates in the region. LaChain, built using Polygon Supernets, offers EVM compatibility with scalability and low transaction fees. It functions as a standalone blockchain network with its own validator set.
Hot Take: Unlocking Opportunities in Latin America’s Web3 Ecosystems 🌐💡
Latin America faces significant economic challenges, but the region’s readiness to embrace Web3 technologies is undeniable. The high levels of adoption and awareness of cryptocurrencies at the grassroots level, combined with the presence of innovative Web3 ecosystems, speak volumes about the opportunities presented by blockchain in Latin America. As these projects continue to evolve and cater to the specific needs of LATAM users, they contribute to the region’s overall development and adoption of crypto and blockchain solutions.
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