How Argentina uses stablecoins, in 5 charts

Where in the world are people using crypto, and how? To start, let’s take a look at Argentina, where 1 in 5 people use crypto, one of the highest rates in Latin America.

It happened fast. Downloads of Argentina’s 15 leading crypto apps nearly doubled in 2024, rising 93% from the previous year.

Argentina’s preference for dollars predates crypto. Back in 2001–2002, the government froze bank deposits and forcibly converted dollar-denominated deposits and loans into pesos via Decree 214/2002. After the dollar peg ended, the exchange rate fell from one peso per dollar to nearly four, wiping out roughly three-quarters of the peso’s dollar value. The crisis deepened distrust of the peso and reinforced the habit of keeping savings in physical dollars outside the banking system — think bills under mattresses or in safe-deposit boxes.

Stablecoins started to pick up steam in Argentina after the government reintroduced currency controls in 2019. Within months, the government had limited Argentines to $200 in official dollar purchases each month, while additional eligibility rules excluded many people entirely. Dollar-pegged stablecoins became another way to save in dollars without relying on the official market.