In a time long ago, before the likes of Overstock, Expedia, Dish, or Beepi joined the Bitcoin club, when mass acceptance was less a tangible goal and more of a pipe dream, one man made big news for accepting Bitcoin.
That man was Sapan Shah, a Subway franchisee who began taking Bitcoin at his shop in Pennsylvania.
Now, another Subway franchisee is accepting Bitcoin, this time in Argentina. The owner Fernando – who asked that his last name be withheld – told >Panam Post that he first became interested in Bitcoin at the Bitcoin conference in Buenos Aires last December.
And after talking to a representative from BitPagos, he decided to start accepting it in his shop.
BitPagos Is Hard At Work
BitPagos, which operates a service comparable to Coinbase or BitPay, has been hard at work helping spread Bitcoin’s influence in South America.
They recently raised $600,000 USD in funding from the likes of Pantera Capital and Barry Silbert, among others, to help spread Bitcoin acceptance in South America.
Their focus is primarily on Argentina, where 82% of the population owns mobile phones, and 66% are online, the highest in Latin America.
Just recently, BitPagos launched a new initiative called Ripio, which will allow Argentinians to purchase Bitcoin at over 8000 different convenience stores nationwide.
Argentina’s Bitcoin Sphere
During a time where South American governments are increasingly putting pressure on Bitcoin or banning it altogether, Argentina seems to provide more hope. But they aren’t without their problems
The Argentinian Bitcoin exchange Unisend recently had their bank accounts shut down under dubious circumstances. It’s unclear whether these actions were related to government action.
Still, compared to the actions of Bolivia and Ecuador, Argentina is a much friendlier place for Bitcoin companies to do business. They’re well on their way to building a strong position as the Bitcoin capital of South America.
Is Argentina Becoming The Bitcoin Capital Of South America?
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