Bitcoin became a safe haven for Rich Latin Americans

Bitcoin is considered a haven for hyperinflation for Latin Americans - at least two new Cryptocurrency funds were opened in 2017 to meet the needs of wealthy Latin Americans, according to a local report. While both funds are located overseas, most of their clients are family offices from Argentina, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. "Latin America is very unstable," said Carlos Mosquera, founder of the Italian hedge fund Solidus Capital. "Cryptocurrencies turn into a new shelter for her."

Unlike East Asia and other parts of the world, which are actively interested in Bitcoin this year due to price increases and volatility, in Latin America, the cryptocurrency is mainly seen as a means of protecting against economic uncertainty. Trading with cryptocurrencies also involves the possibility of circumventing stringent measures of capital controls, in particular, Venezuela.

According to the report, the second largest number of investments from Latin America was the Crypto Assets fund in Miami, which began operations in September. Its founder Roberto Ponce Romey is convinced that the Crypto-currency will become a new class of assets, like stocks and bonds. He founded his own private joint stock company ten years ago and previously held the position of manager of the consulting firm Bain & Co.

Ponce's Crypto Assets Fund, which he reports already, has $15 million in cryptocurrency under management, acts as a passive index fund, holding each asset by its market cap. He also plans to open a second cryptocurrency fund in 2018, offering active management. His stated goals are to increase the passive fund to $50 million under management and to raise $100 million for the new active fund, focusing solely on cryptocurrencies.