Gustavo Petro, the newly elected president of Colombia, has previously expressed support for cryptocurrency following his comment “Virtual currency is pure information and therefore energy,” as regards mining crypto in Colombia.
After winning the second round of a run-off election on Sunday, Petro will succeed Iván Duque Márquez as president of Colombia for the next four years on August 7. In December 2017, right after a huge bull run, the president-elect took to social media to praise Bitcoin’s “strength” (BTC).
At the time, Petro suggested that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin may take power away from governments and traditional banks and return it to the people.
Francia Márquez, his running mate and Colombia’s vice president, has remained relatively mum on crypto-related policies. In a reaction to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s plan of erecting volcano-powered crypto miners, the president-elect suggested that the country employ the natural resources of its western coastline to mine cryptocurrency.
At the time, Petro stated, “Virtual currency is pure information and thus energy.”
With Petro poised to assume office in August, he will join other foreign leaders who have established regulations or spoken out in favor of cryptocurrency adoption. Since September 2021, Bitcoin has been accepted as legal money in El Salvador.
Panama’s legislature passed a law in April that would have established a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, but President Laurentino Cortizo partially vetoed the bill in June, citing worries over AML standards.
Colombia, with a population of 52 million people, is one of the most active crypto trading countries in the area, according to data provided by Usefultulips. Bitso, a major Latin American cryptocurrency exchange, launched in Colombia in February as part of a push to boost adoption and financial inclusion.
