This week’s crypto stories spanned enforcement, mining, regulation, adoption, and institutional flows. Chainalysis traced Iran-linked stablecoin routing behind a major USDT freeze, while Riot continued its steady BTC sales to NYDIG. France dropped a proposed self-custody reporting rule, Binance argued crypto’s next wave of users will come through payments and utility, and Canada’s AIMCo disclosed a $219 million MSTR position as pension exposure to bitcoin-linked assets keeps expanding.

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto news from Latin America over the past week. In this edition, Brazil’s central bank issues a resolution banning the use of crypto rails in regulated cross-border payments, Bitso estimates 40% of all crypto purchases include stablecoins, and Meta launches USDC payments in Colombia.

Experts stated that the decision, which sets a precedent for future AI substitution cases, establishes that AI replacement cannot be brandished as a justification to abandon a labor contract. China is the world’s second-largest AI hub.

used on digital asset commerce.

Bernardo Bilotta argues that banks avoid stablecoins not due to a lack of technical understanding, but to protect their vital relationships with central banks and Western correspondent banks, who are notoriously risk-averse.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has established strict new regulations for the 99th Oscars, officially banning AI-generated content from top categories to protect human creativity.

As the digital blockade imposed by the Iranian regime reaches its tenth week, reports indicate that an individual has allegedly died for using Starlink devices to circumvent it. Hesam Alaeddin, a 40-year-old man, was reportedly beaten to death for this transgression.

Bakkt has completed its acquisition of Distributed Technologies Research, a move designed to integrate artificial intelligence (AI)-native stablecoin infrastructure into its core financial services.

Deepening inflation fears are pushing U.S. crypto traders into digital assets, as 90% worry the dollar will lose purchasing power. An OKX survey found 49% increased crypto holdings since January, reflecting intensifying pressure on portfolio strategies.

Senators escalated scrutiny of a reported Tether loan tied to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s family trust, raising conflict-of-interest and national security concerns. Warren and Wyden cited a New York credit filing involving “Dynasty Trust A.”

Uphold will pay more than $5 million to compensate customers affected by CredEarn, a third-party crypto investment product. The New York settlement requires stronger product reviews, broker registration, and transfer of any Cred bankruptcy recoveries to harmed investors.

A Taiwanese legislator has formally presented a proposal to the country’s premier and central bank governor to allocate part of Taiwan’s $602 billion in foreign exchange (FX) reserves into bitcoin.

A Seoul court has temporarily halted a six-month partial business suspension imposed on South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb, dealing a significant legal setback to the country’s financial regulator just weeks after a similar ruling went against it in the Upbit case.

MegaETH’s MEGA token launched across a myriad of major exchanges and immediately entered a sell-off that pushed it more than -38% below its opening-day highs within 72 hours.

Coinshares officially reported its fiscal year 2025 financial results on May 1, 2026, marking its first annual filing as a U.S.-listed company.