Colombia emerges as an attractive country for new technologies

In the last year, Colombia has been in the spotlight as it emerges as an attractive country for new technologies. Companies from the DeFi, FinTech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency sectors are taking steps to invest in Colombia.

Latin America is being a protagonist in the adoption of cryptocurrencies as well as the proliferation of blockchain-related companies. A report placed Argentina and Colombia in the top 5 countries regarding the adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Colombia has several essential factors to be a catalyst for new technologies applied to finance. The country has key individuals in the crypto sector, private companies in the sector injecting money, openness and support from public institutions, strategic influence of the sector, and a demonstrated interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies by its citizens.

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The private conglomerate seeks to penetrate the Colombian market

The business sector in Colombia has been developing to a great extent in the past years. In April, Binance decided to expand its presence in Colombia same as in Peru, in a clear move to obtain a piece of the crypto sector in Latin America.

Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s CEO, said: “There is a great need for cryptocurrencies in Latin America, especially for financial access. Approximately 50% of the Latin American population is unbanked, […] We continue to build to provide greater accessibility to cryptocurrencies in Latin America.”

Support from public institutions for educating citizens about the blockchain technology

Colombian politicians seem to have understood the potential of blockchain and new technologies. The program “Bogotá Learns ICT” offers basic knowledge in several areas such as blockchain technologies, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, internet and virtual reality among others.

The Mayor’s Office of Bogota explains the program of the basic course in blockchain: “This virtual content will offer in an easy way the meaning of Blockchain, its advantages, and disadvantages, the areas in which it has the most strength, the entry in the financial market, the use of Bitcoin and the impacts in the transformation processes in the digital companies.”

Colombia gets more strategic influence

This week, the Fintech Ibero-American Alliance has appointed a new president. Erick Rincón Cárdenas is also president of the Fintech Association of Colombia. The appointment of a Colombian with various influences in the national arena is beneficial in the long term for Colombia.

Indeed, it gives Colombia a strategic position within the Latin American ecosystem and gives the country a higher status. This becomes even more relevant at the moment, when the international sector is watching Latin America with great interest due to its expansion in the technological field.

Therefore, this appointment is another step that ratifies how Colombia begins to be a relevant player in emerging technologies, in this case, the Fintech sector.

This organization has 1,900 active companies in the FinTech sector, employing 6,000 people throughout the continent. Rincón has a global challenge to face: the coronavirus pandemic.

“We assume leadership with the commitment of giving all the relevance to the Fintech ecosystem as part of the solution to conjure up the effects of the health crisis. We are convinced of the historical opportunity that is presented to us, to demonstrate that through digitized financial inclusion we can achieve economic recovery for our societies,” Rincon said.

Bitcoin constantly beats volume records

According to data published this month by LocalBitcoins, Colombia has set a new historical record in Bitcoin’s P2P exchange. This new milestone has occurred in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Other neighboring countries, such as Argentina, Chile and Venezuela, among others, have also obtained great P2P exchange records from Bitcoin, following the trend that all of Latin America seems to be following. It seems that the Colombian economy, like the global one, has suffered no effect on the adoption of cryptocurrencies.

According to a recent study by Mastercard, contactless payments in Colombia increased by at least 19% due to the pandemic. This has occurred everywhere on the planet due to the recommendation not to use cash. The study counts not only card payments but also some Fintech platforms as contactless payments. It should be seen whether the data would change if the use of cryptosystems were added to this study. The longer cash is banned, the more exposure citizens will have to the benefits of digital currency payments.

A very relevant fact in view of the adoption of cryptocurrencies in Colombia is the high number of crypto ATMs. As reported by BeInCrypto 9 months ago, Colombia is the country with the highest number of crypto ATMs in Latin America. Neighboring countries like Mexico are also having a large investment in crypto ATMs.

Could Colombia lead Latin America in the new technology sector?

In conclusion, Colombia presents several fundamental factors to be the Latin American engine of new technologies. While other countries are fighting their own digital wars to have the supremacy of their national currency, Colombia has the opportunity to position itself as the epicenter of blockchain technology, FinTech, DeFi or companies related to cryptocurrency.

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(Featured image by bergslay via Pixabay)

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First published in be[IN]crypto, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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