The collaboration between the two companies has the potential to benefit both of them. For instance, Bitfinex will be able to expand its presence in Latin America, indirectly reaching millions of users, while supporting common education programs for local universities as it gears up to promote financial freedom and inclusion in countries such as El Salvador and Paraguay.
As for OrionX, it will benefit from Bitfinex’s crypto trading expertise and network, as well as its product features such as crypto trading, staking and lending, and its ongoing development of accessible crypto services. The two companies share a vision to support the development of decentralised technology and financial freedom while delivering an alternative to the traditional banking system.
OrionX was founded in 2017 as a crypto exchange but eventually evolved into the region’s first crypto bank and started to offer various crypto-related services. According to the official press release, the company is now looking to expand beyond Chile as it prepares to launch in Peru, Colombia, and Mexico with the goal of surpassing one million users by 2024.
Bitfinex officials talked about this new partnership and emphasised their plans to leverage the capabilities of Bitcoin and decentralised technology to promote financial freedom and empower other businesses that share their values.
According to a report by blockchain intelligence company Chainalysis, Latin America is one of the world's fastest-growing crypto markets, as it expanded 40% year-on-year to reach no. 7 in 2022 with estimated crypto inflows of USD 562 billion. The report also identified three primary use cases driving crypto adoption, namely sending remittances, storing value, and seeking alpha.
Focusing on remittance payments, the report found them to be common throughout Latin America. Moreover, Latin America’s formal remittance market is estimated to reach USD 150 billion in 2023, and the adoption of crypto-based remittance services has been rapid throughout the region.
The report also explored the tendency of citizens of the largest and most advanced Latin American economies to adopt cryptocurrency not just for savings, but also for profit. Latin America’s more DeFi-centric crypto markets are similar to those in Western Europe and North America, where market participants adopt returns-focused crypto platforms more so than savings-focused centralised services. Brazil was found to be among the leaders in DeFi adoption in the region.
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