And the status and possibilities of that aspect of the cryptocurrency industry in the region.

Hello leofinance friends, I hope you are doing well.

According to different estimates Latin America is the origin of between 5% [more conservative estimates] and 10% [maximum volume cited by several sources] of the volume of cryptocurrency transactions worldwide, a very respectable figure that in money translates into an average of $24 billion, however, Latin America is home to less than 1% of the world's blockchain nodes, now a startup from the region plans to change that, with an initial capital of $3.6 million.

But... what does all this mean for cryptocurrencies in the region?

To answer that question you first need to cover a couple of basic concepts.

What are blockchain nodes

Summarized, a blockchain node is a kind of backup file or repository of the blockchain algorithm, in them all the transactions of the chain are verified, for example if person X wants to send 1 BTC to person Y, this transaction passes a node that verifies that X has the balance available and that the addresses of X and Y are correct, then it passes the information of this transaction to other nodes, and these in turn to others so that the entire network is a record of this transaction, at the end, it is sent to the waiting Mempool to be processed by the miners.
Nodes are vital to the network because as the number of transactions increases, more are required to keep it operational, they also ensure the security and integrity of the algorithm, and, as they expand, they ensure that the network remains decentralized.

Why are there so few nodes in Latin America?

Despite the respectable participation of the region in the marking, the existence of nodes in Latin countries is almost NULL, this has different causes, but the 3 main ones would be these.

Profitability

In an investigation made by the news group Cryptonoticias, about the blockchain nodes in the region, they managed to contact some administrators of a couple of the few nodes in the region, they admitted that although the hardware requirements are not as big for a node as for a mining Rig, the profits obtained by the venture are not very striking, they barely cover the investment costs, and they admit that the money and time spent in managing a node would be more profitable in another venture, but they are still there for personal interests, such as supporting the cryptocurrency boom.

Nodes are usually associated with projects.

Partly due to the first point, and due to technical needs, nodes are usually associated to larger projects than just one node, such as a new Dapp or a complete network. In Latin America until now no such initiative has arisen.
Conservatism and lack of knowledge.

To start a project such as a network of nodes requires capital and qualified personnel, although in Latin America there is a large capital in cryptocurrencies this is dispersed, and the traditional economy in the region is not usually interested in venturing into the field of cryptocurrencies, this in turn makes the trained personnel in the area prefer to exercise their skills in another region.

[the country with the most ethereum nodes in the region is Brazil, with only 3, in the vast majority of countries there is only 1 node]

SenseiNode

This initiative founded by 4 Argentinians and 1 Venezuelan has managed to raise in its initial round of capital search about 3.6 million dollars and has already founded about 50 nodes of different blockchain in the region, Solana, Ethereum, bitcoin, avalanche, Polygon etc... and aims to found 500 nodes in the region by the end of the year, the mode of operation the company is totally remote and do not have a central office yet. More information about it in this Bloomberg report. https://www.bloomberglinea.com/2022/05/06/senseinode-la-startup-argentina-que-apuesta-a-iluminar-latinoamerica-de-nodos-blockchain/

If SenseiNode's expectations are met, it could position itself as one of the major technology companies in the region, and potentially change the way cryptocurrencies are viewed.

Implications.

Despite starting at what could be called a bad time for cryptocurrencies, amid uncertainty in the global economy and falling prices, the fact that SenseiNode manages to raise the capital needed to start is a good sign, if they continue to succeed, they could change the perception of cryptocurrencies in the region, they could start new projects of Dapps, Exchanges, or even new currencies, they could also create an advertising proposal adapted to the Latin American public, and would also attract the investment of large economic players... SenseiNode's success could open a new chapter for cryptocurrencies in the region.

Recommended Bibliographic Reference

[1]TRANSACTIONS THEY HAPPEN"

[2] RED LIGHTNING ASI LUCE NUEVO ROSTRO BITCOIN LATINOAMERICA"