Earlier this month, VanColumbia Group announced Wenia, a new cryptocurrency service. This service could be widespread, as Colombia is the third most populous country in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico. However, the bank is targeting 60,000 users in the first year. In addition to offering cryptocurrencies, the bank is also issuing its own stablecoin COPW, backed by the Colombian peso, at a ratio of 1:1.
One of the more unusual aspects of this launch is that Wenia is not regulated in Colombia. Although initially targeted at Colombian nationals, it is registered in Bermuda and holds a license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Its website emphasizes its independence from Bancolombia and describes itself as “Groupe Bancolombia Ideas.”
“Our aim is to help people connect with the cryptocurrency side in a more accessible, comprehensive and efficient way,” said Pablo Arboleda, CEO of Wenia.
According to Chainalies, Colombia is the fourth most crypto-active country in Latin America. As expected, Brazil and Mexico rank highly due to their large populations. Additionally, Argentina, which has ongoing currency issues, is also attracting more crypto users than Colombia.
Although we believe that Colombians cannot have bank accounts in US dollars, the USDC stablecoin is one of the assets that Wenia plans to support, along with Bitcoin, Ether, and Polygon's Matic. That said, the Colombian peso's exchange rate has remained fairly stable over the past few years.
COPW – Stablecoins rather than tokenized deposits
The COPW stablecoin will be issued on the Polygon blockchain and backed by deposits and other assets including treasuries. In other words, it's a more traditional stablecoin rather than a tokenized deposit. That makes sense given the independent nature of the subsidiary.
Wenia has partnered with Alphapoint on the cryptocurrency trading technology front.
Colombia, on the other hand, is quite active in the blockchain space. The central bank is currently piloting Ripple's technology for high-value payments. Additionally, the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (bvc) stock exchange is considering using blockchain for its digitally native crowdfunding platform a2censo.
update: Corrected references to South America so they should be read as Latin America.
