Bitcoin Demand Reaches Argentina's Highest Peak In 20 Months

Diana Mondino, minister of foreign affairs, international trade, and worship (photo: x @DianaMondino)

JAKARTA - Argentine efforts to keep their savings amid the continuous decline in the value of their national currency, the Argentine peso, have resulted in the highest demand for Bitcoin in the last 20 months.

On March 20, Bloomberg reported data sourced from the Lemon Cash crypto exchange showing that nearly 35,000 subscribers in Argentina bought Bitcoin in a week ending March 10, double the weekly average compared to 2023.

One of the main factors in increasing demand is the continuous decline in the value of the national currency. Over the past twelve months, the value of peso against the United States dollar has fallen, down from $0.0049 to $0.0049 in March 2023 to $0.0012 at this time.

However, it was mentioned that Lemon was not the only platform to see a surge in demand. Other major exchanges in Argentina, such as Ripio and Belo, reported similar trends.

According to Belo's digital wallet CEO, Manuel Beaudroi, stablecoin purchases in Argentina have fallen from 70% to 60% as the recent Bitcoin price hike has attracted more interest.

"The users decided to buy Bitcoin when they saw the news that the currency was rising, while stablecoins were more pragmatic and often used for transactional purposes, as a means of making payments overseas."

Dia juga mengklaim bahwa Belo telah melihat volume Bitcoin dan Ether meningkat "ten kali lipat hingga saat ini di tahun 2024 dibandingkan dengan periode yang sama tahun lalu."

However, recent reports suggest that interest in stablecoins may still exist, as Argentine citizens may choose not to use the country's famous exchanges to buy them.

On February 12, there were reports of Argentine citizens using a black market, known as the locally "crypto cave", to purchase US dollar stablecoins in a bid to avoid strict currency controls and rising inflation from peso.

Meanwhile, the use of digital currencies for certain transactions is slowly gaining momentum in the country.

In December 2023, Diana Mondino, minister of foreign affairs, international trade, and worship, claimed that a decree aimed at economic reform and deregulation would allow the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the country on several conditions.

Following the ruling, a local landowner and a tenant in Rosario, Argentina's third most populous city, signed a rental agreement in which the latter would pay monthly rent in Bitcoin.