• Usiacurí becomes Colombia’s first municipality to integrate cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Tether, and Tron into its economy.
• The “Crypto District” initiative is a partnership between Usiacurí’s municipality, Certika, Universidad de la Costa, and Corporación CienTech.

Usiacurí, a quaint coastal town in Colombia, has taken a pioneering step by becoming the country’s first municipality to legally incorporate cryptocurrencies into its local economy. Launched on June 21, this innovative move is part of the “Crypto District” project, a collaborative effort between the Usiacurí municipality, Certika, Universidad de la Costa, and Corporación CienTech.

This initiative allows the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Tether, and Tron for both tourists and local residents to conduct transactions. The integration of digital currencies into Usiacurí’s economy is aimed at addressing the needs of foreign tourists and adapting to the demands of an increasingly globalized and digital world.

As we have written in Crypto News Flash, it positions Usiacurí at the forefront of financial technology by enabling artisans and local businesses to transact using blockchain technology, thus providing a fast and secure payment method.

Beyond facilitating e-commerce, the project is designed to boost the local economy by enabling artisans and small businesses to seamlessly sell their goods and services using blockchain technology. This move is expected to transform how commercial transactions are conducted in Usiacurí, enhancing efficiency and security for both buyers and sellers.

The inspiration for the “Crypto District” came from Bitcoin’s adoption in El Salvador, which you can read more about in our coverage in Crypto News Flash,  which was closely studied by Tito Crissien, the executive director of CienTech and an advisor at Universidad de la Costa. The university has been instrumental in the project, providing research and academic support through its studies on blockchain and its applications.

Crissien commented:

“The participation of the Universidad de la Costa was fundamental throughout the entire process, since through its teachers and researchers they have been strengthening the line of research into blockchain and its applications, such as this tool that “It allowed us to turn Usiacurí into the first municipality with a cryptocurrency district, generating more sales in its tourism and hotel sector.”

Usiacurí’s mayor, Julio Mario Calderón, expressed his enthusiasm about the initiative, highlighting its potential to attract visitors and establish the municipality as a key destination for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. According to reports, over 60 local artisans, three hotels, two tourist guide agencies, and seven restaurants are already participating in the project.

At the project’s launch, local artisans were equipped with cryptocurrency wallets and trained to conduct their first transactions. This initiative not only enhances Usiacurí’s tourism and hospitality sectors but also positions it as an innovative model for integrating crypto technology into municipal management and local commerce.

Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic saw an exponential rise in cryptocurrency investments which was partially driven by the stress of social isolation, QUT researchers have found.

The study’s results have major implications for financial advisors, marketers and policymakers on how to curb excessive risk-taking among isolated individuals.

The article, “Social isolation and risk-taking behavior: The case of COVID-19 and cryptocurrency,” was published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.

Dr. Thusyanthy Lavan and Professor Brett Martin, from the QUT School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, with overseas colleagues, studied the consumer interest in cryptocurrency during the pandemic.

Dr. Lavan said the team looked at the impact of the pandemic’s prolonged enforced social isolation coupled with economic instability that drove risk-taking behavior, particularly in cryptocurrency investment.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, in January 2020, market capitalization of these online currencies was about $191 billion but had surged to $769 billion by December 2020,” Dr. Lavan said.

“This shift is underscored by the significant increase in the Bitcoin price, up 700% from March 2020 to March 2021.

“The attraction of these high-risk investments could be linked to their perceived potential for high returns during times of economic instability and market volatility.

“A further factor might be people’s tendency to try to reinstate some control in their lives and gravitate toward more autonomous and seemingly empowering activities, such as trading in cryptocurrencies.

“With this in mind, our aim was to look for the broader psychological responses to social isolation that catalyzed these changes in consumer decision-making, particularly in adopting new, and potentially riskier behaviors.

“Previous research has established the direct effects of social isolation on risk-taking behavior in non-purchase situations such as sharing of personal information on social media, but this is one of the first studies to examine risky purchase behavior.”

Professor Martin said they conducted a survey in December 2022 during a lockdown period in Australia of 216 participants screened for awareness of and familiarity with cryptocurrency but who were not current investors.

“By focusing on potential future investors, we aimed to capture unbiased perceptions and insights into cryptocurrency investment decisions,” Professor Martin said.

“Our survey sought to identify how three psychological constructs—perceived stress, sense of control and neuroticism—might underlie the relationship between social isolation and risk-taking behavior.

“Perceived stress is a personal interpretation of stress regarding a situation in a person’s life they consider to be beyond their adaptive capacities, while sense of control reflects a person’s belief in their ability to influence events and outcomes in their life.

“Neuroticism is a tendency to experience negative emotional states such as anxiety and impulsiveness.

“Our analysis of the results showed that perceived stress, rather than a sense of control or neuroticism, plays a key role in driving risk-taking behaviors during periods of social isolation.

Professor Martin said the researchers were not criticizing cryptocurrency.

“To be clear, my recently published research has shown how the process of cryptocurrency investing can have a positive effect on peoples’ lives.

“In this project, we looked at the effect of lockdowns and isolation-induced risk-taking. This research can provide insights on developing better support strategies for vulnerable populations.”

The research team comprised Dr. Lavan, Professor Martin, and Professor Weng Marc Lim and Professor Linda Hollebeek from Sunway University, Malayasia.

ISKANDAR PUTERI: The police dispose of almost six years’ worth of seized items, including bitcoin mining machines worth more than RM428,000, that are kept as evidence.

Iskandar Puteri OCPD Asst Comm M. Kumarasan said the disposal of evidence items was divided into four categories: bitcoin mining machines, contraband, gambling, and general items.

“The items involved 304 investigation papers that have been completed and have received court orders for them to be destroyed.

“All the items had been seized from 2019 up until May this year,” he said in his speech at Iskandar Puteri police district headquarters here on Tuesday (June 25).

ACP Kumarasan added that the seized cryptocurrency mining machines, valued at RM232,650, involved four investigation papers.

He said RM174,300 worth of seized contraband items from 48 investigation papers involving liquor, beer and illicit cigarettes would also be disposed of.

“Based on police investigations on contraband items, we found that most of those that buy fake liquors were immigrants working around here.

“I have instructed my men to continue carrying out inspections and operations at premises to put an end to selling contraband items within the Iskandar Puteri area,” he added.

ACP Kumarasan stated that there were 175 investigation papers in the gambling category. The seized items included computers, smartphones, and other electronic devices with a total value of RM18,000.

He added police would also dispose of general items involving 77 investigation papers, including chemical envelopes, a forensics envelope, sharp weapons, and other items worth RM3,500,” he said, adding that the total value of all seized items was RM428,450.

ACP Kumarasan urged the public to continue contacting the police with information on criminal activities in their area by contacting the Johor police hotline at 07-2212999.