Bits and Borders

Guilherme Rebane is the head of Latam and Brazil at OSL, which is one of the world’s largest digital asset platforms and liquidity providers for institutions. He spent 20 years working in traditional finance as an equities, derivatives and FX trader, and now he leads business development and operations for OSL across the Latin America region.

In this episode, we discuss the rapid maturation of the Brazilian crypto market, why crypto was the predominant theme at the Expert XP conference in Sao Paulo earlier this month (one of the largest finance and investment events in the world) and how interest from institutions and professional investors in the region is growing.

We also discuss Brazil Crypto Report’s new BCR Institutional vertical that will focus on creating crypto content and community relevant to the professional investor ecosystem in Brazil. Special thanks to OSL for being the launch partner of this new product 🙏

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

🔥 I hope to see some of you at the Blockchain Rio festival that’s happening September 1-4 in Rio de Janeiro; you can use the code BRAZILCRYPTOREPORT to get 10% off on your ticket.

🎉 Also be sure to check out the Ethereum São Paulo event which is how happening Sept 9-11. You can go to ethereumbrasil.com to learn more

Isac Costa is a computer scientist, a former regulator with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission and a professor at Ibmec and Insper - two of Brazil's top business schools. He's also been keenly observing the development of legislation that would create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and digital assets in Brazil. This legislation was expected to pass earlier this summer but stalled amid disagreements over key provisions like reporting timeframes and asset segregation rules. TLDR is that with upcoming elections, the outlook for this bill passing this year is murky. 

Isac and I go deep into the nuances of this proposed legislation. We discuss:

- history and background of crypto regulation in Brazil and previous attempts to legislate this matter

- core objectives of this legislation and the various stakeholders involved in influencing its direction

- tensions between local exchanges, overseas exchanges and tradfi institutions moving into crypto

- the rulemaking process that will commence once legislation is signed - ie the fight will shift from the legislative to the regulatory front at the Central Bank and CVM

If you're closely tracking Brazil crypto legislative developments, I highly recommend following Isac on Linkedin

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

🔥 I hope to see some of you at the Blockchain Rio festival that’s happening September 1-4 in Rio de Janeiro; you can use the code BRAZILCRYPTOREPORT to get 10% off on your ticket. 

🎉 Also be sure to check out the Ethereum São Paulo event which is how happening Sept 9-11. You can go to ethereumbrasil.com to learn more

Tatiana Sampaio is chief marketing officer for the Blockchain Rio festival, which will take place in the Cidade Maravilhosa September 1-4. She gives us a sneak preview into what is being billed as Latin America's largest blockchain event. We discuss the content themes and structure, the side events and the involvement of the Rio government, local economic development agencies and the Brazilian Central Bank

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

🙏 Thanks to our partners at HBAR Foundation for supporting this episode of 🇧🇷 Brazil Crypto Report! If you're a Latam entrepreneur or developer with an up-and-coming project or idea and need some support, take a look at the HBAR grant program. They're seeding projects focused on DeFi, fintech, NFTs, sustainability and so much more. They also offer a plethora of other resources to help builders bootstrap. Do yourself a favor and check them out! 👊

Brazilian UFC fighters Matheus Nicolau and Luana Pinheiro have taken the bold step of accepting a portion of their salary in bitcoin via a partnership with Bitwage.

Matheus holds an 18-3-1 record and is currently ranked 7th worldwide in the UFC flyweight division. Luana is 10-1 in UFC competition and is ranked 18th in the women’s strawweight division.

In this episode, we dive into:

This is also my first-ever Portuguese language podcast interview so I hope you enjoy my gringo accent 😂

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

🙏 Thanks to our partners at HBAR Foundation for supporting this episode of 🇧🇷 Brazil Crypto Report! If you're a Latam entrepreneur or developer with an up-and-coming project or idea and need some support, take a look at the HBAR grant program. They're seeding projects focused on DeFi, fintech, NFTs, sustainability and so much more. They also offer a plethora of other resources to help builders bootstrap. Do yourself a favor and check them out! 👊

Sabrina Tachdjian is the director of payments and fintech at HBAR Foundation. We discuss how the HBAR Foundation’s grant programs operate, what types of projects and teams she is keen to support, what a successful applicant looks like and a touch on a few success stories of grantees who are doing exciting work in the region and around the world.

🙏 I am super grateful to HBAR Foundation for supporting 🇧🇷 Brazil Crypto Report. They’ve been a great organization to work with. If you have a project or an idea in the realm of DeFi, NFTs, sustainability or enterprise adoption, I highly encourage you to check out their grant program👊

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

Ray Nasser is CEO of Arthur Mining and has nearly a decade of experience in the bitcoin mining world and two decades' worth of experience in financial markets. In this episode we discuss why Brazil has historically not been an attractive destination for bitcoin miners and how that could soon change based on potential legislative changes and other dynamics. Among these includes growing interest in bitcoin mining from energy companies in Brazil looking for profitable ways to offload their energy surplus. 

You can follow Ray on Twitter at @RayNasser123 

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

🙏 Thanks to our partners at HBAR Foundation for supporting this episode of 🇧🇷 Brazil Crypto Report! If you're a Latam entrepreneur or developer with an up-and-coming project or idea and need some support, take a look at the HBAR grant program. They're seeding projects focused on DeFi, fintech, NFTs, sustainability and so much more. They also offer a plethora of other resources to help builders bootstrap. Do yourself a favor and check them out! 👊

João Zecchin is a co-founder of Fuse Capital, an early-stage investment firm based in Rio de Janeiro. We discuss how the Brazilian venture community is approaching crypto, how Fuse is looking to quickly deploy capital in the "Web 2.5" space with its forthcoming crypto fund, and how institutional investors in Brazil and North America are approaching crypto differently.

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

🙏 Thanks to our partners at HBAR Foundation for supporting this episode of 🇧🇷 Brazil Crypto Report! If you're a Latam entrepreneur or developer with an up-and-coming project or idea and need some support, take a look at the HBAR grant program. They're seeding projects focused on DeFi, fintech, NFTs, sustainability and so much more. They also offer a plethora of other resources to help builders bootstrap. Do yourself a favor and check them out! 👊

Kirill Gertman is the CEO of Conduit Financial, which provides DeFi on and off-ramps for crypto exchanges, fintechs and neobanks. We talk about the opportunities and risks afforded by crypto yield products in Brazil and Latam given the current market conditions. We also dive into how brokers can offer these products to their customers without exposing themselves to excessive risk. 

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

🙏 Thanks to our partners at HBAR Foundation for supporting this episode of 🇧🇷 Brazil Crypto Report! If you're a Latam entrepreneur or developer with an up-and-coming project or idea and need some support, take a look at the HBAR grant program. They're seeding projects focused on DeFi, fintech, NFTs, sustainability and so much more. They also offer a plethora of other resources to help builders bootstrap. Do yourself a favor and check them out! 👊

Portal do Bitcoin reporter Saori Honorato join the podcast to discuss Binance’s move to suspend real deposits and withdrawals last week while abruptly terminating Capitual, its local payment processor and fiat on/offramp.

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

🙏 Thanks to our partners at HBAR Foundation for supporting this episode of 🇧🇷 Brazil Crypto Report! If you're a Latam entrepreneur or developer with an up-and-coming project or idea and need some support, take a look at the HBAR grant program. They're seeding projects focused on DeFi, fintech, NFTs, sustainability and so much more. They also offer a plethora of other resources to help builders bootstrap. Do yourself a favor and check them out! 👊

Daniel Vogel is the CEO of Bitso, one of the largest exchanges and the first crypto unicorn company in Latin America. We discuss Bitso's first year of operation in the Brazilian market, how Brazil compares to other Latam countries like Mexico and Argentina where the company has had success, how impending regulation can help crypto’s image problems in Brazil, and his Consensus 2022 experience.

Please follow and subscribe to Brazil Crypto Report for more news, analysis and interviews examining the Brazil crypto ecosystem

🙏 Thanks to our partners at HBAR Foundation for supporting this episode of 🇧🇷 Brazil Crypto Report! If you're a Latam entrepreneur or developer with an up-and-coming project or idea and need some support, take a look at the HBAR grant program. They're seeding projects focused on DeFi, fintech, NFTs, sustainability and so much more. They also offer a plethora of other resources to help builders bootstrap. Do yourself a favor and check them out! 👊