Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder of Ledn, assured in the most recent edition of LABITCONF that, in Latin America, banks have not worked for the population. «In Latin America, banks have never served, we have never had credit, they have never given us real access to the financial system,» he stated in conversation with NoticiasVE.
Even so, at the most recent event on bitcoin (BTC) held in the city of Buenos Aires, the Venezuelan highlighted with humor and pride that the Latin American presence—and in particular the Venezuelan—is indispensable in the cryptoactive industry. «A cryptocurrency company that does not have a Venezuelan is not a cryptocurrency company,» he added.
Seeking to reinforce his argument, the CEO of Ledn was blunt: «Look for a large crypto company that does not have a Venezuelan, an Argentine or someone from El Salvador working there,» he added, but not before mentioning that Many Latin Americans have been forced to emigrate in order to progress.
«I am a Venezuelan who had to go to Canada to start a business. The talent is here, what is missing is creating the environment so that it can grow,» he lamented.
Along these lines, Mauricio considers that the experience with bitcoin in Latin America is radically different from that in developed countries. He points out that, while in the United States or Europe the currency created by Satoshi Nakamoto represents another opportunity to diversify investments, in the region it is something that «changes people’s lives.»
To illustrate, The businessman resorted to a metaphor with golf: He explained that, in countries that have already successfully overcome the stage of emerging economies, bitcoin is like giving a better golf club to those who are already used to playing. However, in Latin America BTC is «receiving your first suit and discovering that now you can play.»
Bitcoin as a tool of real change in Latin America
The social impact that bitcoin generates in unstable economies is, according to Di Bartolomeo, profound, and he has witnessed this thanks to Ledn users. «Many clients have told me: ‘Mauricio, I want to thank you because my loan in Ledn was the first I was approved for in my life.’ I had never been approved for a loan,» he said. For him, That financial access symbolizes dignity and true inclusion.
However, he warns that there is still a way to go so that more people can benefit from tools such as lending with cryptocurrencies. One of the main challenges for this adoption, he points out, is the lack of financial education.
In this way, the Venezuelan explains that, in countries like the United States, people are used to requesting loans since they are young. With this, he adds, they can better understand the value of borrowing in a currency that is depreciating, to preserve assets that are appreciating.
On the contrary, he alleges that in Latin America the opposite is true: «In Latin America we have never had access to loans, that’s why people don’t understand how it works. But when they understand the power of borrowing something that is systematically devalued, and maintaining something that cannot be printed, they will create wealth like the boomers did in the United States,» he stressed.
With that point of view, Di Bartolomeo seeks for Ledn to not only be a financial services company, but also a platform that helps provide peace of mind to users. In that sense, he emphasized that the company differentiates itself from the rest of the market due to its focus on security and transparency.
«We are the company with the longest history and the most volume processed since 2018. We have had a perfect record protecting our clients’ assets,» he said.
Likewise, the Ledn leader commented that the company was a pioneer in implementing the concept of proof of reserves, a mechanism that allows users’ funds to be publicly verified. «None of the companies that have collapsed in this industry had proof of reserves,» he noted. Then, he announced that, Starting in December, these Ledn reports will be published monthly.
Regulation and future of the ecosystem
When asked about the current regulatory landscape of the industry, the specialist highlighted that The United States is moving rapidly toward greater legal transparency thanks to proposals such as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Law project, known as Clarity Act., which seeks to unify the licensing system for lending companies and exchanges.
«They are making life easier for these companies because they want them to develop there. «They are seeing the opportunity before others,» he warned.
On the other hand, he regretted that in Latin America there is still a lack of political vision to attract companies in the sector: «We should be competing to see who attracts the most companies. “We have talent and exceptional natural conditions, but we need the rails for the train to arrive.”
At the end of the interview, Mauricio was optimistic about the price of BTC: «Bitcoin is going to reach a million dollars at some point… Since all governments spend more than they earn, bitcoin is going to absorb that inefficiency and reflect it in its price.»