Binance now allows Argentines to buy crypto with local currency

On Tuesday, April 4, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, announced that its users in Argentina will be able to convert the local currency directly into crypto assets. The move marks Binance’s latest expansion of its offering in South America – a continent that has so far proven very receptive to cryptocurrencies.

Binance announces that it now accepts Argentine pesos

This Tuesday, Binance’s Argentine branch announced that users in the country will be able to convert the local currency – pesos – directly into cryptocurrencies on the platform. According to the release, the service will be offered through a local partner of the company, and Maximiliano Hinz, director of Binance for Latam Cono Sur, expressed his excitement with the development calling it a continuation of the exchange’s client-focused approach:

We are excited about this launch. At Binance, the focus is always on our customers, and we are committed to providing them with the smoothest, safest and most optimized experience. We understand the peculiarities of each country in the region. This new service will allow us to continue working towards financial inclusion.

Despite being both the target of regulatory pressure in the US, and worrying rumors online, Binance has continued its efforts to expand its global operations. Along with several developments in Latin America, the stock exchange, by purchasing Sakura and Gopax, has entered the Japanese and South Korean markets respectively after many years of absence.

Argentina, for its part, has been quite receptive to digital assets as a country. This is, at least in part, due to the incredibly high inflation rate of over 102% that makes digital assets increasingly attractive despite their relative volatility. Local governments have also proven to be crypto-friendly, and Argentina’s Mendoza province began allowing residents to pay taxes in digital currencies as early as last summer.

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The thriving crypto ecosystem in South America

While the digital asset-related news coming from much of the world has been mixed, or even negative, South America generally seems to be weaving a different story. The trend is perhaps best exemplified by El Salvador’s decision to not only make Bitcoin legal tender in the country, but also to double down on its strategy by continuing to buy the cryptocurrency even through the worst of the “crypto winter.”

Over the years, major cryptocurrency companies have continued to show their willingness to work on the continent. Brazil in particular has found itself in the news, and it only saw in 2023 the arrival of a crypto debit card issued by Binance and Mastercard, and the integration of the central bank’s Pix payment system with Coinbase.

Local digital asset firms have also achieved great success despite the pressure the cryptocurrency industry has been under since the start of 2022. Just months after launching its service, a Buffett-backed Brazilian neobank Numbank announced that it had already attracted nearly 2 million users to digital assets. Additionally, last November, a major Argentinian cryptocurrency exchange called Ripio revealed that it has brought its service to the United States.

Do you think allowing people to buy cryptocurrencies in their native currency could have a big impact on global crypto adoption? Let us know in the comments below.

About the author

Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate in the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division and is also a co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.