The number of people in Argentina turning to cryptocurrency for financial lifelines is rising as the country struggles with high inflation and economic instability, according to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
Stablecoins now represent 61.8% of all crypto transactions within the country, making it one of the largest adopters in Latin America, behind only Colombia with 66% and ahead of 59.8% in Brazil.
That represents a direct increase that coincides with the ongoing devaluation of the Argentine peso, as nationals flock to dollar-pegged digital assets as a means to preserve their wealth.
In a year when inflation rose to 236.7% through August and more than half the population lived in poverty, Argentinians are running to cryptocurrency as a hedge against economic uncertainty.
“The correlation between the peso devaluation and a spike in stablecoin trading on exchanges really highlights how crypto is being used as a financial hedge in turbulent markets,” said a researcher from Chainalysis. “In many ways, that speaks to the ability of citizens to make independent choices about their financial future, free from any force of official monetary policy.”
This is not just an Argentinian trend, as Venezuelan trends in the fight against hyperinflation are moving in the same direction. According to this report, Venezuela has taken the top spot in the region in digital assets received or purchased on centralized exchanges, reflecting a broader regional turn toward digital assets driven by economic distress.
This wave of crypto adoption comes at a time when Argentina is in transition under the rule of newly elected President Javier Milei, a libertarian economist who has expressed interest in Bitcoin and has pledged to solve the financial problems facing the country. to solve.
