As neighbouring countries like Paraguay and Venezuela deal with the impact of illegal crypto mining, a man has been arrested in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on charges of siphoning off-grid electricity to mine cryptocurrencies, Decrypt.com reported. The incident occurred in the Freguesia area, on Governador Island, an island in the north of the state. According to communications from local police, officers found several high-performance machines used for digital mining and that the house had electricity but no meter, indicating illegal theft.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced on Friday a 12 billion reais ($2.21 billion) debt renegotiation package aimed at supporting up to 100,000 agricultural producers, primarily small and medium-sized farmers affected by recent climate events, Reuters reported. The measure comes as Brazil's largest state-run bank, Banco do Brasil faces record default levels in its agribusiness portfolio, threatening the stability of the country's crucial agricultural sector.

Venezuela's government is slowly allowing the use of dollar-tied cryptocurrencies in currency exchanges for the private sector, a dozen sources said, as U.S. restrictions on oil exports reduce available foreign currency, Reuters reported. Sanctions by the United States, which the Venezuelan government has characterized as "economic war," prevent many business transactions, forcing companies seeking to buy raw materials from abroad to exchange local bolivars for dollars that are generated by the oil trade and foreign card transactions and are injected into exchanges by the central bank.

Pulp and paper manufacturer Celulosa Argentina SA filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, blaming the government of President Javier Milei for creating a bad business environment for local industry, the Buenos Aires Times reported. After missing bond payments, Celulosa, based in agricultural export hub Rosario, is now seeking protection from creditors in Argentina’s equivalent of a Chapter 11 process, according to an investor filing. Its locally traded shares slumped by as much as 17 percent on Monday and are down nearly 80 percent so far this year.

Brazil's economy lost momentum in the second quarter but still outperformed market expectations, driven by resilient services activity and gains in the extractive industry, official data showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Gross domestic product in Latin America's largest economy grew 0.4% in the April-to-June period from the previous quarter, statistics agency IBGE said. That reading marked a steep slowdown from the revised 1.3% growth reported for the first quarter, when seasonal farm output boosted performance in the agricultural powerhouse.

Brazil's central bank is not competing with financial or payment institutions through its operation and regulation of the widely used instant payments system Pix, said Renato Gomes, the institution's financial system organization director, Reuters reported. In remarks released by the central bank on Wednesday, Gomes said the institution "plays the role of a neutral agent, providing a public digital infrastructure that allows the market to develop more efficiently, inclusively and competitively." Pix is among the Brazilian trade practices under formal investigation by U.S.

Argentina's central bank on Tuesday raised its reserve requirements for banks to a level analysts said could risk slowing the economy, a move analysts say aims to soothe markets as the government of President Javier Milei is rocked by corruption allegations ahead of key legislative elections, Reuters reported. The 3.5% increase - the third increase in recent weeks - is set to come into force on September 1, affecting a range of existing reserve requirement rates that average around 45%.

Argentine authorities are stepping up scrutiny of investor activity in repo loans, the short-term financial instruments that have seen interest rates touch record highs amid a liquidity crunch at the nation’s banks, Bloomberg News reported. The Central Bank and local regulator CNV asked for help analysing the real-time data they receive daily from the country’s two main exchanges, BYMA and A3, on the short-term instruments known locally as cauciones bursátiles, according to people familiar with the matter.

A U.S. judge on Monday authorized a court officer overseeing an auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum to receive and negotiate improved bids this week before confirming or changing the winner recommendation he made last month, Reuters reported. A final winner recommendation in the complex court-organized auction is expected to be submitted by the end of this month, Judge Leonard Stark said in a hearing. Read more.

Brazil's central bank is still assessing whether the benchmark interest rate at 15% is appropriate to bring inflation down to its 3% target, economic policy director Diogo Guillen said on Monday, Reuters reported. Policymakers kept rates unchanged in late July at a near 20-year high after 450 basis points in hikes since last September. They signaled borrowing costs would remain steady for a "very prolonged" period. Guillen stressed that the guidance signaled more rate holds. "We are still evaluating whether this is the appropriate rate to bring inflation to target," he said.