Episode #84: Going Bankless in 2024 with Rocelo Lopes

🎧 Listen: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Anchor | Amazon | Google Podcasts | YouTubeOlá pessoal!If you’ve been around the Brazil crypto world for some time, you’ve surely come across Rocelo Lopes. He’s been a staple of the industry in this part of the world for a decade now - launching the region’s first commercial bitcoin mining operation in Paraguay in 2014. Now he has a mind-blowingly creative new product that allows users to send and receive USDT payments via Brazil’s Pix instant payment network - obviating the need for Brazilians and foreigners to have a bank account in order make electronic payments via Pix.In this interview we discuss:* Rocelo’s first exposure to bitcoin in 2013 when a client offered to pay an overdue $180,000 telecom bill with 1,105 bitcoins. * In 2014 he established Latam’s first commercial bitcoin mining operation in Paraguay due to its cheap hydropower (also how he set the local electrical substation on fire and left the local town without power!)* How SmartPay facilitates instant fiat-crypto swaps and payments via Pix in under 30 seconds without custody, and why this is advantageous for Brazilians and gringos alike* How SmartPay facilitates cross-border Pix payments at significantly lower cost than credit card FX rates. This helps Brazilians abroad and provides an incentive to merchants to use the service* SmartPay’s roadmap - which includes adding Tether Gold, bitcoin base layer, and Lightning Network payments in 2024You can connect with Rocelo on Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram Have a great week everyone,-AWSConnect with 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report across the web: Twitter | Linkedin | YouTube | Instagram | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Substack Get full access to Brazil Crypto Report at brazilcrypto.substack.com/subscribe