That's true but in the cryptocurrency world, this is big news. I don't think it matters wheather Uruguay has a big Bitcoin market or not, what's important here is that a Central Bank from Latin America is discussing the implementation of a blockchain-based cryptocurrency. I mean, a few countries from Europe or Asia could learn a thing or two from Uruguay, since they are the first country in the world to implement their own cryptocurrency.
I found more news about this but they are in spanish, but from what I could understand using online translators, the Central Bank of Uruguay is going to call it something like "digital banknotes" and starting this week people will be able to manage their funds on their smartphones by using an app from Google Store or Apple Store. And if i'm not mistaken, the public can also use an exchange (or a payment processor with physical stores) to convert their digital banknotes into paper money.
Only time will tell how big of an impact this will have in Bitcoin in that country.
Digital banknotes isn't quite the same as cryptocurrency but we'll put it down to translation.
Yep, just because Uruguay isn't a big player doesn't mean that this event won't form ripples and counter effects. We've read about Bitcoin's emergence in South America due to the spiralling economy in Venezuela. I don't know the value of a central bank implementing a national crypto (it certainly is not the first to discuss, if all the news proves to be true, we might see the first pop up in Saudi Arabia or Russia), but the hype from that alone would surely set off a string of imitators in the region.
On the downside, I think it's bound to fail as a revival of economy. But it's an experiment anyway, so I suppose there's nothing to lose, only lessons to gain.