Tech Roundup: PIX v. Crypto

This week. Will PIX impede the growth of crypto in Brazil? Brazilian IoT project helps improve soybean productivity by almost 20 percent. Uber gets a “call the police” button in Rio de Janeiro.

Is PIX hurting crypto in Brazil?

Crypto has made its way to Latin America, with Bitcoin even becoming a legal tender in El Salvador, but in Brazil, the region’s biggest economy, progress has been slower. And a major roadblock to crypto becoming an everyday means of payment for Brazilians is the success of PIX, the Central Bank’s instant payment system launched in 2020.

What they are saying. According to Fábio Araújo, coordinator of Brazil’s central bank-issued digital currency project, the use of crypto for payments has lost its purpose with PIX, which is already very popular and much easier to understand than the ins and outs of the blockchain.

• “It’s kind of pointless in Brazil. We have a very advanced payment system. PIX was a phenomenon,” Mr. Araújo said last Sunday.
• “The value of the crypto market is the flexibility its tools provide. A fintech can take these programming tools, make a new financial product and bring it to market much faster than can be done today in the traditional market. It will bring more efficiency and competition to the market,” he added.

Yes, but … Industry experts believe the idea that PIX can harm the growth of crypto is overstated. Guilherme Petersen, CEO of digital services platform Ticto, tells The Brazilian Report that the goal for crypto is different: “Cryptocurrencies have a bigger role than just moving values between people. They can be an investment option and even simplify international transfers bypassing financial institutions,” he explains.

• Mr. Petersen...