Bitcoin Breaks Barriers: Latin America’s Crypto Revolution Gains Momentum

Latin America embraces Bitcoin as inflation hedge and remittance lifeline—while Wall Street still debates its ETF applications.

Why it matters: Dollar-pegged economies are turning to decentralized finance faster than regulators can draft frameworks. Argentina's monthly Bitcoin volume just hit $1B despite—or because of—its 90% inflation rate.

The remittance game-changer: Cross-border payments now cost 80% less via Lightning Network than Western Union. Salvadoran coffee farmers receive wages in BTC before New York hedge funds get custody approval.

Reality check: Local exchanges still struggle with liquidity crunches when the SEC tweets about US Bitcoin ETFs. Some things never change—bankers will banker.

Brazil: From a hedge to a balance-sheet asset

For years, Bitcoin in Latin America (LATAM) was mainly viewed as a hedge against currency risk. That view has evolved, especially in Brazil, where institutional flows now join retail payments and remittances, with stablecoins serving as the main on-ramp. Between mid-2024 and mid-2025, Brazil’s on-chain activity hit R$1.7 trillion, up 109.9% year over year, driven mostly by stablecoins.

Méliuz was the first Brazilian public company to formalize a Bitcoin-treasury strategy, positioning BTC as CORE capital and later outlining an options program to grow holdings while keeping operations cash-backed and collateral exposure limited.

Since then, OranjeBTC has joined the market as a publicly listed vehicle and now holds 3,708 BTC in its treasury, surpassing Méliuz and placing it first in Latin America by corporate holdings (with Méliuz now in second).

Industry insights

A series of panels and exclusive interaction with The Crypto Times at the summit underscored this strategic pivot. The consensus was that the region’s history of monetary instability is not a weakness, but a key competitive advantage in understanding Bitcoin’s value.

Guilherme Gomes, CEO of OranjeBTC, explained the unique regional psychology, “Brazilians and Latin Americans have lived through many different currencies over the decades. They’ve seen what it’s like for a currency to lose all its value. Argentina, for instance, went through something very similar not long ago. People here know what it’s like to live with double- or triple-digit inflation, and to use a currency that isn’t a global store of value. We’re constantly watching the dollar — how much it rises or falls — and any change in U.S. monetary policy impacts Brazil directly.”

He added, “So when you think of entrepreneurs and business owners living in a country with a less stable currency, they’re much more open to understanding what a decentralized monetary standard — like bitcoin — really means. I see enormous potential in the region. I believe Latin America has everything it takes to lead this movement.” 

Further, Mason Foard of Méliuz outlined the resulting strategy, “I believe Bitcoin becomes the global monetary base layer. BTC should be a substantial part of a portfolio, and then you look for ways to make Bitcoin work for you—one is treasury-company exposure that can accrete BTC per share.”

This trend is forcing traditional finance to adapt. Guto Antunes, representing Itaú, Brazil’s largest private bank, noted the regulatory spillover. He said, “Regulators across the region are looking to Brazil as a benchmark. The main challenge is still regulation, but we’re ahead. Countries like Paraguay, Chile, and Colombia are making progress. Argentina is already basically crypto-native. We’ve been approached by other regulators to share our experience and help them adapt Brazil’s framework to their local context.”

The retail investor’s bet

On the summit’s margins, investors explained their Bitcoin thesis to The Crypto Times. Their rationale was not based on hype, but on two practical pillars: access and execution.

One investor stated that Brazil should adopt a similar approach to El Salvador, which has been building its national Bitcoin treasury, which is now worth around $600 million. He shared, “We’ve even seen Brazil’s vice president discussing Bitcoin with Fernando Ulrich, which shows that the conversation is already happening. I think this is the future, and Brazil should already be investing in it.” He also highlighted that many regional investors and funds can’t hold Bitcoin directly, making OranjeBTC’s public listing and full BTC treasury a safer, regulated entry point.

Another investor, coming from a real estate background, said OranjeBTC’s strategy of borrowing capital to expand its Bitcoin treasury “makes sense for those who prefer managed exposure,” comparing it to MicroStrategy’s model.

Both emphasized access and execution over hype, and echoed similar sentiments about governments eventually gaining more confidence in Bitcoin with better regulations and investor confidence growing. 

Brazil’s rulebook moment: clarity at a price

In Brazil, the regulatory landscape is already beginning to reflect usage. On October 29, Brazil’s National Congress advanced Bill 458/21, offering a one-time 30% regularization regime for undeclared digital assets, including Bitcoin: 15% tax + 15% fine, based on the market value as of December 31, 2024. 

The proposal has returned to the Senate for a final vote. But as policymakers pitch the plan as fiscal tightening; opponents call it a revenue maneuver that revives rejected provisions through the back door. Either way, it’s a formal path to compliance, with installment options and interest indexed to the Selic rate, arriving precisely as crypto use explodes.

A regional snapshot beyond Brazil

The Latin American region is seeing a lot of crypto focus. This adoption is happening in tandem with, and sometimes ahead of, formal regulation.

Peru

Peru’s largest bank, BCP, executed what it says is the country’s first bank-run crypto payment inside a controlled pilot: a tokenized balance used to buy a coffee via QR, with Fireblocks providing issuance, custody, and payment rails. Tokens were sandboxed (non-tradable), time-limited, and distributed to staff—an infrastructure rehearsal rather than a market launch.  

El Salvador

El Salvador’s daily-buy policy keeps a government treasury in the headlines and continues to function as a regional signaling device: whatever one’s view of the volatility or the IMF tug-of-war, the precedent of a sovereign BTC reserve remains part of Latin America’s investor psychology.

Argentina

After a whirlwind controversy over the Libra ($LIBRA) token, Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office determined that President Javier Milei’s promotional post was a private act, not an official policy communication. 

The legal bottom line didn’t erase investor losses, but it did clarify the boundary between personal endorsement and state position—a line crypto markets in the region will keep crossing until formal frameworks are in place.  

Energy and infrastructure: Opportunity in search of policy

Brazil’s renewables surplus is drawing miners to underutilized wind and solar capacity, a match made in economics if not yet in regulation. Power producers like the idea, miners can absorb excess load and scale dynamically, but drought-prone grids and national-security concerns (especially around stablecoins) keep the Central Bank focused on guardrails. 

Industry is moving quickly; the rulebook, less so. In the absence of finalized norms, large-scale build-outs will remain a calculated risk.

Why this matters

Latin America is aiming to write a Bitcoin-first chapter of corporate finance:

• Investors already act as if Bitcoin were digital capital: they use stablecoins for payments and remittances, push banks to pilot crypto rails, and back listed firms that hold, and grow, BTC on the balance sheet.
• Companies in Brazil are turning BTC from an abstract hedge into a treasury strategy, with Méliuz and OranjeBTC shaping a public-markets playbook that others in the region can study and adapt.
• Regulators are moving toward defined compliance paths, Brazil’s 30% regularization regime being the most explicit, even as debates over taxation levels and stablecoin oversight continue. 

For Latin America’s largest economy, this isn’t just another tech trend. It’s a test of whether scarce digital assets can anchor balance sheets in places where fiat stability has been episodic, not guaranteed.

If Brazil’s companies, and its rule-makers, sustain this trajectory, the region could become the world’s most consequential case study in Bitcoin as corporate capital rather than mere speculation.

Also read: Is Brazil Leading the BTC Adoption Wave? What Saylor Has To Say