Snapcard's CEO Michael Dunworth flew down to Brazil to present Bitcoin and blockchain technology to government officials and central bankers. The biggest surprise during his visit came from how much k
Snapcard's CEO Michael Dunworth flew down to Brazil to present Bitcoin and blockchain technology to government officials and central bankers. The biggest surprise during his visit came from how much knowledge the regulators already possessed and the depth of their engagement with the material.
Dunworth leads the Bitcoin wallet company and has positioned Brazil, South America's largest country, as a priority market for growth. Snapcard processes more Bitcoin volume than any other wallet in the country, according to Dunworth. "Brazil is one of our focuses as a company. I think we're the largest wallet in Brazil now. There's not really too many people in the space. I would be very hard pressed if someone is doing more volume than us as a bitcoin wallet at the moment," he told me during an interview at the San Diego Blockchain Agenda Conference.
The company has invested substantial resources into developing the market in Brazil. A partnership with PagPop has proven especially valuable. The relationship has allowed more than 12,000 merchants across Brazil to accept Bitcoin payments from their customers. Dunworth made the trip south partly to expand these commercial partnerships and partly to engage with government authorities directly. He saw the benefit of meeting regulators face-to-face and ensuring his company remained on solid legal ground.
Bitcoin startups have sometimes treated regulation as an inconvenience rather than a requirement. The consequences have been harsh. U.S. authorities have shut down operations of any size when serious violations occur. Dunworth wanted no part of that path. His company strategy emphasizes compliance from the ground up. He wanted the Brazilian regulators to see Snapcard as a legitimate, compliant operation. "We want to do everything right as a company. We engage FinCEN. I flew to Brazil to spend a whole day with the central bank. We take that approach. We're not trying to slip around the terms and conditions or through loopholes," he said.
The Central Bank of Brazil scheduled Dunworth's presentation with an impressive audience. Government officials from multiple sectors attended. Consumer protection figures came. Anti-money laundering officers showed up. Foreign exchange regulators took part. Officials from other agencies responsible for money and currency matters also joined. In total, authorities representing a wide range of regulatory concerns assembled to hear Dunworth speak.
The audience had done its homework. Dunworth had prepared a general introduction to Bitcoin and what it might offer Brazil. But the officials asked him about sidechains and private blockchains, concepts that require more than a surface-level understanding of blockchain technology. The sophistication of their questions startled him. Most people in Bitcoin circles assume regulators lag years behind the latest technical developments. The Brazilian officials contradicted that assumption through their engagement and the caliber of their inquiries.
"Everyone was in town," Dunworth said, noting the broad representation of government agencies that made the effort to attend his presentation.
