Brazil Is Warming Up To The Idea of Bitcoin

Slowly but surely, Bitcoin is gaining a foothold in South America. Even though countries such as Argentina might be wary – and sometimes even hostile – towards this disruptive digital currency, countries such as Brazil are warming to the idea of using a different currency. With over 500 Bitcoin being traded in the past 24 hours, it looks like things are starting to take off.

Bitcoin in Brazil So Far

Brazil is not often mentioned in the same sentence as Bitcoin, even though it is one of the South American countries that could tremendously benefit from adopting the digital currency. Similar to neighboring countries, Brazil’s financial system has been plagued by an inflationary currency, corruption, greed and multiple monetary interventions from the government.

To make matters even worse, Brazil is facing a huge drop in business confidence, leading to an increase in unemployment and a drop in wages. And with less money in the hands of those who do manage to hold on to their jobs, supermarket sales are being affected as well. In fact, across all supermarkets, there has been a 2.6% drop in sales in March of this year alone.

At the end of April, Brazilian interest rates hit a record high of 13.25% per annum, much higher than most other countries in the world to date. But there are some positive points to be noted as well. In recent weeks, the Brazilian Real rebounded by over 10% compared to the US Dollar. It is interesting to note this was the first time in over a decade such a rebound took place.

It goes without saying that the situation in Brazil is getting more dire month over month. Something needs to change for the local residents, and with all statistics going down, an alternative currency could be an option worth considering.  And it looks like people are slowly realizing the potential of Bitcoin for their daily lives.

Bitcoin Trading Volume on the Rise

Over the past 24 hours, the overall Bitcoin trading volume on the Brazilian market has increased to over 500 Bitcoin. Not only is Bitcoin a more viable alternative for money remittance to and from the country, but it is also being adopted by several merchants in the city of Aracaju. In fact, there are over 30 merchants in the city who accept Bitcoin payments right now, and that number will only increase over time.

Even though 500 Bitcoin traded in a 24-hour period might not seem like much, you have to keep in mind that it is very hard for local residents to move money in and out of the country. And most of the population has limited to no access to a bank account, so exchanging Brazilian Real to and from Bitcoin is not an easy feat.

It will be interesting to see how the Bitcoin situation evolves in Brazil over the next few months. If this level of demand keeps up, local Bitcoin exchanges may be facing liquidity problems in the near future.

Source: Map A Bitcoin

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