The unexpected resignation of Argentina’s economy minister, Martín Guzmán, sparked a frenzied demand for stablecoins on local Bitcoin exchanges. According to Criptoya, the USDT rate jumped to 262.9-318.9 pesos, implying a premium of 109.5%-154.2%.
A similar situation is evident with other ‘stablecoins’ — USDC, DAI, BUSD and USDP.
The departure of the official could threaten further economic instability.
Since the start of the year the peso has depreciated by 22.1%. Annual inflation in May accelerated from 58% to 60.7%. Over the past decade, the country has recorded double-digit inflation.
For Argentine residents, stablecoins serve as a means of preserving capital. On 1 September 2019, the government issued Decree No. 609/2019. The document effectively capped the monthly purchase of foreign currency at the official rate at $200.
Argentina has entered the top three countries in Coinformant’s ranking for cryptocurrency adoption.
In September 2021, the central bank pointed to the use of digital assets for circumventing capital controls.
Subsequently, the regulator prohibited local banks from offering clients cryptocurrency-related services.
Earlier, Argentina’s Federal Tax Administration obligated cryptocurrency exchanges to report user transaction data on a monthly basis.
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