Living in Buenos Aires, many Bitcoiners ask me about BTC adoption in Argentina. The high inflation and devaluating peso makes Argentina the perfect use case for Bitcoin adoption... Right?
Well let me explain why it's not that straight forward and why stable coins like @Tether_to are so popular in Argentina.
TLDR
📈#Bitcoin is an investment.
💰US$ store of value.
💸Argentine Peso medium of exchange.
For many years the Argentine peso has experienced a strong devaluation. Over the last 10 years it has lost 99% of it's value in USD.
The chart below looks very similar to s#!tcoins from the 2017 ICO boom. 💩
Because of this devaluation and the high inflation, the Argentine people rather save in stronger currencies. USD is the preferred currency of choice. Some even call it a 'hard currency'.
Dollars are not saved at the bank, obvio que no! Because all Argentines remember the 2001 crisis when many lost their life savings after a massive bank run.
Most savings are hidden under the mattress or deposited on a foreign bank account.
So people save in dollars and spend their pesos. This has led to what Argentines refer to as ‘un sistema bimonitario’.
Everything of value (e.g. real estate and cars) is priced in dollars and often paid in $. Preferably paid in cash or transferred to a foreign bank account.
Cash is king in Argentina. In many stores you get discount for paying in cash. Because the moment the credit card provider processes the transaction, the pesos already has lost value.
You better spend your peso as fast as possible or covert it into USD.
Next to cash, @mercadopago, an equivalent of @Alipay, has become very popular. Mercado pago is a service of @Mercadolibre, one of Argentina's unicorn companies.
There is also a wide ranges of crypto exchanges, payment apps and even crypto debit & credit cards available.
Because of the bi-monetary system, the adoption of stable coins is really taking off. Unlike its neighbouring countries, Argentina favours crypto dollars over Bitcoin, with 60% of crypto purchases in stable coins compared to 13% in Bitcoin.
Examining average crypto portfolios across Latin America, Bitcoin reigns supreme, comprising 53% of holdings, followed by Ethereum at 16%.
However, in Argentina, while Bitcoin remains prominent at 48%, crypto dollars take second place at 26%, reflecting a distinct investment strategy.
infobae.com/economia/2024/…
Argentina's crypto landscape reflects a nuanced interplay between economic instability, inflation hedging, and evolving investor preferences, positioning stable coins as a vital tool for wealth protection in uncertain times.
If you want to get more insights into Argentina, it's inflation and Bitcoin adoption check the video below by @PeterMcCormack over at @WhatBitcoinDid and make sure to follow @paleobit @BowTiedMara @AlephCitadel
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