Bits and Borders

Frontier technology and cross-border systems, in conversation with the people building them.

[Dust @DustLabsX]

AMA is moving up. Now it's tomorrow, Tuesday September 8th, instead of the 9th.

Sitting down with @AaronWStanley to talk about the future of $DUST.

If you've read crypto coverage over the last decade you've read him: Forbes columnist, formerly CoinDesk, four years at the Financial Times in Washington before that, and the person behind Brazil Crypto Report.

He's covered this industry as a journalist longer than most of it has existed, which is exactly why we asked him. He's not here to cheerlead. He's here to ask the questions you'd ask.

Be there.
https://t.co/yrBXNjhAoV

[Justin Norman 🌍 @just_norm]

When I was in Bolivia at this exact same duty-free shop, I asked how to pay with USDT, and I was told I could only pay in cash or Zelle.

I was wondering why they listed the prices in USDT if they didn't accept stablecoins. I figured it was that they couldn't figure out merchant acceptance...

I realize now that it's a function of Bolivia's parallel economy, where there is the official rate - fixed at 6.96 Bolivianos to $1 - and the "real" market rate, which at the time of my trip was around 13 to 1.

This duty-free shop is using the real market rate, which uses the USDT-Bolivianos rate on Binance as the reference price.

If you go to exchange cash in the informal market in Bolivia, you'll get this same rate.

The duty-free shop is using the real market rate, where they'll get 2x as many Bolivianos as if they use the official rate.

But as a result, they *have* to say that the price is a digital asset price (even though they don't actually accept digital assets).

I took a video of my interaction with the store employees, in the post below ⬇️

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

👊Subscribe to 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more content exploring digital asset adoption in Brazil and Latin America

https://t.co/hBgMRltrdc

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

🚨 New Episode exploring @BRL1Coin

Thomaz Teixeira, CEO of BRL1 and and Ben Reid, Head of Stablecoins, @Bitso, join the show to discuss Brazil's unique consortium stablecoin model.

BRL1 is a partnership between @MercadoBitcoin, @foxbit and @Bitso

BRL1 is already doing ~50% of USDC's volume on Brazilian exchanges - just months after launch, and institutions and market makers are taking notice.

When competitors collaborate on shared infrastructure, everyone wins.

🎙️Full Interview
YouTube: https://t.co/Jc6g4rJ3xn
Spotify: https://t.co/4zGwJyMW4J
Apple: https://t.co/UlWVjF6llE

Thanks to our sponsors for this episode:
- @aveniaio is reimagining money movement across the Americas
- @Figment_io provides institutional grade staking infrastructure to more than 1,000 banks, fintechs and asset managers worldwide

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

👊Subscribe to 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more content exploring digital asset adoption in Brazil and Latin America

https://t.co/hBgMRltrdc

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

🚨 BREAKING DOWN BRAZIL'S NEW VASP REGULATIONS 🇧🇷

After 3 years of waiting, Brazil's Central Bank just dropped comprehensive crypto regulations.

@cadufrusso of Bluegreen and Cesar Carvalho of @BaptistaLuz_Adv join to discuss the implications

Key takeaways 🧵:

📅 Timeline: Rules go live Feb 2, 2025. VASPs have 9 months to file for authorization, with a ~3 year approval process

💰 Capital Requirements: 11.2M - 37.2M BRL minimum capital depending on business model. This creates serious barriers for smaller players.

⚖️ Level Playing Field? Yes and no. International exchanges like Binance now play by the same rules as local players for compliance and tax reporting. But TradFi institutions may have unfair advantages over new VASP entrants.

🪙 Stablecoins: Now formally integrated into Brazil's regulated FX market. This legitimizes crypto-based cross-border payments.

📋 VASPs are required to report customer transaction data (including withdrawals to self custody) to the Central Bank

🔍 What's Next: Industry pushing for phased capital contribution calendar and parity on transaction limits between VASPs and traditional FX brokers.

Thanks to our sponsors for this episode
- @aveniaio is reshaping money movement across the Americas
- @Figment_io provides institutional staking infrastructure to more than 1,000 banks, fintechs and asset managers

🎙️Full Interview
YouTube: https://t.co/812tWP6xIZ
Spotify: https://t.co/vXMRWGd8AA
Apple: https://t.co/iiFVBau2UY

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

🇧🇷 New episode with Paulo David, CEO of AmFi - one of Brazil's leading tokenization platforms

Paulo's thesis: Brazil's high interest rates are the country's most attractive export—but global investors can't access them

Here's why that's changing 🧵

Key moments:
⏱️ 01:02 - Paulo's journey: 3x entrepreneur
⏱️ 04:28 - Why tokenization for private credit markets? ⏱️ 12:15 - How blockchain solves Brazil's infrastructure problems
⏱️ 42:06 - Impact on SMBs and the broader economy ⏱️ 46:08 - Expansion plans: Southeast Asia & Middle East

Brazil's private credit market is growing 40%/year toward $500B

This is one of the biggest digital asset opportunities in all of Latin America

🎙️Full Interview
YouTube: https://t.co/SpfmTby9wt
Spotify: https://t.co/wR79Jvurbm
Apple: https://t.co/HLYBj3WOpq

🙏Thanks to our sponsors for this episode
- @aveniaio is reshaping money movement across the Americas
- @Figment_io offers institutional grade staking services to more than 1,000 banks, fintechs and asset managers globally

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

@diegokolling @satsconf_ @lucasdcf Lucas é o cara

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

Brazil's Drex CBDC project has been formally shut down by the country's Central Bank

[Valor Investe @valorinveste]

Banco Central põe fim ao Drex, o projeto do real digital
https://t.co/JEmeq5qbE4

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

This is incredible! congrats @cryptochica_arg!

[ETH Latam @ethlatam]

É oficial: @VitalikButerin vem para o Brasil 🇧🇷

Pela primeira vez, o criador do @Ethereum estará presencialmente em São Paulo na @ethlatam!

Isso é histórico para a comunidade brasileira!

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

@ethlatam @VitalikButerin @ethereum 🔥🔥

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

👊Subscribe to 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more content exploring digital asset adoption in Brazil and Latin America

https://t.co/hBgMRltZ2K

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

🚨New episode with @GuiAmadoGomes, CEO of @ORANJEBTC - Latin America's largest Bitcoin treasury company 🇧🇷

From working with Ray Dalio at Bridgewater to building Brazil's first public Bitcoin-native company, Gui explains:

→ Why Latin America needs Bitcoin MORE than the US
→ How Orange differs from companies just "hedging" with BTC
→ Why Brazil is actually ahead of the US in Bitcoin regulation
→ Oranje's aggressive plan to grow their 3,700+ BTC treasury

"If Bitcoin is good for Americans, Bitcoin is great for Latin Americans"

🎙️Full Interview
YouTube: https://t.co/92YT4ESv9S
Spotify: https://t.co/mxsymHR6zG
Apple: https://t.co/4PAKEtaTm2

🙏 Thanks to @aveniaio for sponsoring this episdoe

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

ETHLatam is shaping up to be a killer event!

[ETH Latam @ethlatam]

Honored to welcome @tkstanczak, Co-Executive Director of the @ethereumfndn and co-founder of @nethermind, as a special guest at @ethlatam São Paulo 2025!
Since March 2025, he’s been leading key structural changes to renew the Foundation’s energy and impact 💪🏽

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

Congrats @CrownBRLV team!

[Michael Anderson @im_manderson]

1/ We just co-led an $8.1M round in Crown (@CrownBRLV), a Brazilian real stablecoin with native revenue sharing for institutions 🇧🇷💰

Crown makes it easier for institutions to access Brazil’s high interest rates + gives fintechs new rails to build on.

🧵👇

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

Congratulations to @ORANJEBTC on becoming Latin America's largest publicly listed bitcoin treasury company 👏👏👏

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

👊Subscribe to 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more content exploring digital asset adoption in Brazil and Latin America

https://t.co/hBgMRltZ2K

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

It seems every crypto company now has its own card product that lets users spend crypto and stablecoins

Why has @KASTcard seen such explosive growth despite competition from all sides?

CEO @raagulanpathy says the secret sauce is its singular focus on providing customers with a bank-like experience

He tells all in this interview with BCR host @AaronWStanley

🎙️Full Interview
YouTube: https://t.co/U31xdAMSgD
Spotify: https://t.co/fevR1OlU85
Apple: https://t.co/j4YZ8PLxE7

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

👊Subscribe to 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report on Substack for more content exploring digital asset adoption in Brazil and Latin America

https://t.co/hBgMRltZ2K

[Bits and Borders @BitsandBorders]

How is @0xPolygon working to bring FX fully onchain?

@millatalarico, head of onchain finance growth for Brazil at Polygon Labs, explained during a recent interview with BCR in Mexico City

🎙️Full Interview
YouTube: https://t.co/2ZnabG3yEK
Spotify: https://t.co/PVGkANKIz8
Apple Podcasts: https://t.co/qT06hPVv2z