It should be noted that the attitude towards cryptocurrencies is not only in Argentina right now. Last week, in particular, analysts at JPMorgan Bank reported on local investor preferences. It turned out that major financial market players prefer to engage with gold instead of Bitcoin, as local regulators have a negative view of the digital asset.

And because there is still no certainty in the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the US, they are in no hurry to allocate their capital to this asset category.

How cryptocurrencies are banned

Digital assets are quite popular in this country – and here, accordingly, there is a market for payment platforms that process crypto transactions. Because of the decision by the country’s main bank, businesses like Ualá and Mercado Libre could suffer notable losses.

As a reminder, Mercado Libre is Amazon's counterpart for Latin America. The company was about to start accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment for its goods and services. However, such an initiative is now likely to be abandoned.

In the announcement of the ban, BCRA officials gave no further explanation for the decision – all being done ostensibly to protect consumer interests. However, bankers should have turned their attention to other aspects of the state economy if officials really care about Argentinians. According to Decrypt’s sources, Argentina is the third largest market in Latin America. At the same time, the country’s economy suffers from huge inflation – just last month the figure passed 100 per cent for the Argentine peso.

The bad situation in the economy is visible in part due to the Bitcoin exchange rate in the local currency, the Argentine peso. Today, the value of the first cryptocurrency in the peso is near its all-time high, while in the dollar BTC is more than twice as far behind the record $69,000 of November 2021. The fiat’s depreciation comes as a result of the country’s currency crisis, which began in 2018 and continues right up to today.

In such an environment, cryptocurrencies remain a great tool for saving and even multiplying Argentines’ savings. Against a backdrop of rising inflation, digital assets have also grown in popularity in the country. According to Glassnode analysts, Argentina is the thirteenth fastest growing local crypto market in the world. And the depreciation of local money is clearly contributing to that.

What’s more, Argentina is even holding major cryptoconferences, although cryptocurrencies themselves are not officially regulated by the government. In particular, last year’s LaBitConf event in Buenos Aires was attended by many popular personalities in the crypto-sphere – and that included MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.

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At the end of the week, action against a separate aspect of the crypto market was also reported by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulator said it was “conducting inspections at locations of allegedly illegally installed crypto machines,” according to Cointelegraph.

The FCA coordinated with local authorities to raid sites in Exeter, Nottingham and Sheffield. This is not the first time such events have taken place: in March in East London and in February in Leeds, the FCA found several illegally installed devices.

The FCA’s announcement was commented on by Teresa Chambers, executive director of enforcement and market surveillance. Here’s the relevant rejoinder.

Our actions over the last few months clearly show that we will do everything we can to stop illegal activity. As well as cracking down on unregistered businesses, the joint effort has helped raise public awareness of illegally operating crypto machines in the UK.

When carrying out the inspections, FCA management invoked its powers under the UK Anti-Money Laundering Regulations 2017. The regulator plans to examine the evidence gathered and “consider taking further action if necessary”. According to CoinATMRadar, there are now more than 17 cryptocurrency operators Big Sea Coins, BD ATMs, Cryptobitecoin and Computer House in the UK. It is still unclear whether they are registered with the FCA.

Overall, in 2022, the global number of crypto machines started to decline rapidly for the first time in the industry’s history. This is due to a general decline in the market and the popularity of digital assets amid the crisis.

That said, there are now almost 1,450 cryptomats installed in the EU. Here is the corresponding graph.


We believe that this decision will not benefit the reputation of Argentina's main bank. Of course, locals will still be able to access cryptocurrencies through P2P transactions, but for some, this change will make life much more difficult. And since Bitcoin remains a good investment given the rapid depreciation of the peso, it becomes even harder to see the logic in bankers' actions.


For other interesting aspects of the crypto market, check out our chat about the would-be rich. You can turn into one after the next bull run.