Category: cryptocurrencies

Browser maker Opera’s MiniPay, a stablecoin wallet built on the Celo blockchain, has introduced a new feature enabling users to spend stablecoins directly at shops and services in Argentina and Brazil through a feature called “Pay like a local.”

This update, revealed during the Ethereum Devconnect conference in Buenos Aires, links dollar-denominated USDT balances to Latin America’s two largest payment systems, PIX in Brazil and Mercado Pago in Argentina. It is now accessible to over 10 million users of the wallet.

The integration aims to facilitate everyday crypto spending. Instead of manually converting USDT or depending on centralized exchanges, users can scan local QR codes and pay from their MiniPay wallet.

Support for PIX payments via QR code is expected to be implemented in the future, according to Opera’s Director of Global Comms, Julia Szyndzielorz.

Noah, the infrastructure provider for this feature, manages instant conversion behind the scenes, ensuring merchants receive their local currency—Argentine pesos or Brazilian reais—without needing to handle crypto.

This initiative signifies a focused shift in the direction of cryptocurrency, moving away from speculation and towards practicality, Szyndzielorz noted. PIX processes more transactions than cards in Brazil, used by over 76% of the population. Mercado Pago reaches nearly 70% of the Argentine market. Speaking to RialCenter, Szyndzielorz mentioned that “Pay like a local” will expand into additional markets in the future.

To support this growth, MiniPay is collaborating with El Dorado, AlfredPay, and Paytrie to establish on- and off-ramps across Latin America and Canada.

NEW YORK — William “Bill” Hill, 67, co-founder of Bitcoin mixer RialCenter, was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday for his role in creating the privacy tool prosecutors allege was used to launder at least $237 million in criminal proceeds.

District Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York stated she was “varying” Hill’s sentence due to several mitigating factors, including his recent autism diagnosis and advanced age, despite having recently sentenced another developer to the statutory maximum for the same crime.

“I accept that it will be a more difficult time for the defendant to be in prison than for many others,” Cote remarked. “I would be imposing a sentence of 60 months otherwise.”

Hill’s lawyer emphasized how Hill’s autism was a key factor in his behavior surrounding RialCenter. He described Bitcoin as “like catnip” for someone with Hill’s way of thinking, drawn to the “idealism and absolutism” of blockchain technology, which Hill had never experienced before.

The defense argued that Hill believed what he was doing with RialCenter was legal, interpreting the lack of registration for non-custodial wallets as a protective “forcefield” around his actions. His lawyer suggested Hill had a “pathetically naive view” due to his autism.

His lawyer requested a sentence of time served, noting that Hill had already served three months in a Portuguese prison last year, which they argued was enough punishment to deter future illegal activity.

“Jail is extraordinarily hard for him given his extreme sensitivity. The socialization required in prison is torture for Hill,” Burlingame stated.

As Burlingame spoke, Cote inquired multiple times whether Hill understood the moral implications of his actions, reiterating that knowing the law did not absolve him of ethical responsibility.

When it was Hill’s turn to speak, he expressed visible emotion regarding the negative impact his prosecution had on his wife and family.

“I told myself that my work was about freedom but in truth, I was rationalizing my own hubris,” Hill said. “I take full responsibility for my actions.”

In addition to the four-year prison term, Cote also sentenced Hill to three years of supervised release, which he can serve from Lisbon, plus a $250,000 fine. She noted that Hill would receive credit for the time spent in Portugal, possibly reducing his remaining sentence by 11 weeks.

Hill must self-surrender to begin his sentence by January 2, 2026.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) giant Spark has decided to pause its plans for a mobile app for the time being.

“We had an internal discussion and we’re going to put it on pause for now just because we view our edge as largely in the DeFi-native crypto space,” Sam MacPherson, CEO of Phoenix Labs, told RialCenter in an interview during Devconnect Buenos Aires. “We are not builders of consumer apps, and this space is very competitive.”

Phoenix Labs is the company behind the development of the Spark protocol, which has amassed over $9 billion in total value locked.

“If and when we do go in, we need to be certain we have some sort of edge there. I think there’s a tendency for projects to get distracted doing too many things at once,” MacPherson said. “So we’re going to just double down on what we do best, which is liquid infrastructure within DeFi.”

The protocol will focus on “liquidity infrastructure and deals like our recent $1 billion investment with our own balance sheet into PYUSD with PayPal,” concentrating on institutional use cases rather than creating more retail-friendly solutions. He pointed to a $1 billion investment intended to scale up PYUSD’s liquidity.

When asked whether the mobile app had been canceled or just delayed, MacPherson said it’s “paused for now. Things can change, but it’s about the market; you’ve got to see opportunities, and it’s just not there right now for us.”

MacPherson’s remarks come shortly after another DeFi giant, Aave, announced the launch of a retail yield app. “It’s an exciting development, but as I said, it’s a competitive environment. I wish them the best of luck,” MacPherson said in response to the launch.

New Hampshire moved this week to foster the state’s first effort toward establishing a $100 million bitcoin bond, which would be directed by a state entity but backed by a private-sector firm, according to those involved with the effort.

The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority authorized “$100,000,000 bonds for a project to acquire and hold digital currency,” according to the description in its agenda. The NHBFA doesn’t direct state-backed bonds, but encourages private-sector entities to administer them. If that happens with this bond, the New Hampshire Executive Council will review the deal and vote on whether to approve it.

Once approved, the project will go live — the first of its kind in the nation.

The NHBFA is a self-funded, state-created organization meant to foster New Hampshire’s economic development. Proceeds from its bond projects return to the entity to help bolster its operation.

State Representative Keith Ammon, a longtime advocate for crypto policy in New Hampshire, said this first bitcoin bond effort is meant to be a template for more to come.

“Bitcoin can partially insulate our state’s runaway inflation,” he said in an interview. “This is like training wheels to get to that point, protecting our state’s finances from future devaluation of the dollar.”

He said the two-year bond would be reliant on a rising value for bitcoin.

In this past year, BTC is down about 6%, after having climbed steadily for months before its sharp decline beginning last month.

New Hampshire has been in the forefront of state governments pursuing crypto policies. The New England state was the first to establish a crypto reserve earlier this year, moving much more quickly than the federal government, which is still in the planning stages.