The Central Bank of Argentina has taken an important step and announced that it will stop the use of crypto money in payments made through payment applications. The decision was made due to concerns about the risks associated with cryptoassets and their potential impact on the country’s financial stability. The Central Bank of Argentina announced on Thursday, May 4, that it has instructed payment providers to suspend the inclusion of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum on their platforms. The decision applies to all payment and electronic money transfer providers operating in Argentina, including Mercado Pago, one of the country’s leading payment apps. Here are the details…
Important Bitcoin and altcoin decision from Argentina
Argentina’s central bank is putting crypto under pressure. The bank said in a statement yesterday that payment platforms are now prohibited from offering crypto assets such as Bitcoin to customers. The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) said the reason for this decision was to “reduce risks”. A number of popular companies offer crypto trading to their clients, including fintech giant Ualá and online marketplace Mercado Libre, as we reported on Kriptokoin.com.
“Payment service providers offering payment accounts may not transact or facilitate crypto-assets, including crypto-assets that are not regulated by the competent national authority and authorized by the Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina (BCRA) to their customers,” the statement said on Thursday. The bank did not explain why in the announcement, other than to protect customers.
Inflation exceeded 100% in Argentina
This means that major platforms, including Latin America’s Amazon counterpart Mercado Libre, can no longer offer Bitcoin purchases to Argentines. Argentina, Latin America’s third-largest economy, now has one of the worst inflation rates in the world: It surpassed 100 percent last month for the first time in three decades. A number of crypto startups in the country and even a popular presidential candidate have said that Bitcoin should be used as a savior for Argentines who cannot save or are on their way to becoming poor due to the collapse of the peso.
Although cryptocurrencies are not regulated in the South American country, they are becoming popular. Blockchain data firm Chainalysis says Argentina is one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency markets. The country was ranked 13th in the 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index last year. The nation’s capital, Buenos Aires, hosted the big LaBitConf event last year, where a number of cryptocurrency figures, including MicroStrategy boss Michael Saylor and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, spoke about the growing role of Argentina’s crypto ecosystem.
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