Several weeks have passed since the Government established the "hard stocks" which reduced the purchase of a maximum of US $ 10,000 per month to just US $ 200. Since then, Argentines have been looking for new ways to convert their savings to hard currency.
Thus, the Central Bank did not delay in announcing new regulations in order to seal some slips through which foreign exchange was still being drained. In this sense, Communication A 6823 aimed to avoid the use of credit cards or other mechanisms to dollarize, such as:
- Dollar "Casino": the use of gambling to make tickets (cross to Uruguay, buy chips with cards, do not use them and exchange them for dollars in another window)
- Dollar "Paypal": charge credit card balance to an account of this payment platform and bring them to Argentina through companies such as Nubi
- Dollar "Quiena": the transfer of funds to accounts of foreign investment managers
Among other maneuvers that complement the "count on liqui" (buy shares in the country in pesos and sell them on Wall Street in dollars). It is that the Argentines feel prisoners of an inflation that they did not generate and, as if this were not enough, they were prevented from protecting their money by resorting to more stable monetary signs.
In this context, more and more savers turn to another resource to dollarize: the purchase of digital currencies from local suppliers, since they can be acquired in the country with pesos (in networks such as Rapipago or Easy Payment), bank transfers and credit cards. credit. So much so that after the elections and after the tightening of the stocks, this alternative does not stop breaking records of operations.
Only on the LocalBitcoins platform, a kind of Virtual Currency Free Market that brings together buyers and sellers, $ 19 million was traded in the last week and the boom was extended to exchanges, as the country's bitcoin exchange houses are called .
"It is surprising. Operations quadrupled after the government hardened the stocks," Matías Bari, CEO of Satoshitango, tells iProUP, a platform that allows the purchase and sale of digital currencies in local currency and uses the Rapipago network. With sustained rhythm, the average ticket is around $ 25,000.
Andrés Fleischer, COO de Ripio, agrees: "Bitcoin purchases grew significantly. Moreover, since this type of transaction does not depend on bank hours." In the market they put figures to the matter: the volume quadrupled and at least two out of ten people have no experience in digital markets.
In fact, the interest is evidenced by the arrival of Huobi, the first multinational exchange house that is based in Argentina. "The stocks are not an obstacle, because we will operate with pesos, so people can use both to buy and sell," says Carlos Banfi, executive president of the local subsidiary.
"At this time, the platform is already operational with more than 200 pairs of cryptocurrencies. In December, we will allow credit card and transfer operations," he completes in dialogue with iProUP.
The new refuge
Given the high political and economic uncertainty, many Argentines see digital currencies as the great refuge to protect their capital.
"The results of the elections confirmed that it will go towards another economic course. To this we must add measures of the current government that are difficult to digest," says Alberto Vega, regional manager of BitPay.
According to the manager, "October 31, 2019 will remain in local history as the day that, for the first time, the BCRA established a measure to block the purchase of digital currencies with credit cards in foreign exchanges."
After the entity tried to "surround the apple" to savers, the Bitcoin market experienced a "wave effect" and operations skyrocketed. "It is a refuge from the devaluation of the peso, triggered by mistrust in economic policies," says Vega.
"The stablecoins, with Bitcoin as a flag, emerge as an accessible option in pesos to protect savings," adds Manuel Beaudroit, CMO Bitex. Is that the stocks do not limit the purchase of virtual currency with cash.
Therefore, alternatives such as Ripio, Satoshitango or Bitex suffer a collateral blow to the measure, as do all companies that have limitations to work with foreign suppliers.
In other words, the regulations of the BCRA (A6823) only affect purchases with a credit card in dollars, so exchanges based in Argentina are out of their radar. "Our users operate in local currency, make deposits and withdrawals in their Ripio accounts in Argentine pesos, so that the stocks do not affect them. It should be clarified that the Central Bank does not prohibit the purchase of digital currencies," they add from Ripio .
According to Camilo Rodríguez, trader focused on the analysis of virtual currency markets in cryptorocket.group, the process to buy bitcoins and take them to PayPal is as follows.
1) Buy bitcoin at some exchange house in Argentina, since there are no restrictions to buy at local exchange houses. Each unit of the digital currency today sells for 630,000, although you can buy decimals of Bitcoin.
2) Change them abroad and by PayPal balance. "You can use localbitcoins.com to meet with PayPal balance sellers," says Rodríguez. At the close of this article, a Bitcoin was paid up to $ 540,000 in exchange for PayPal balance
3) Both for the purchase and for the sale, "the minimum documentation to be presented in a currency exchange is the DNI with a selfie with the document in hand," says the expert.
In this way, $ 630,000 will be paid to obtain a PayPal balance of US $ 8,570. That is, 14.3% more expensive, equivalent to a dollar of $ 72. For these hours, the cash settlement is located at $ 76.50. To withdraw the funds, an account can be obtained in services such as Neteller or Prex, which offer a debit card to withdraw from an ATM in Uruguay - for example - to obtain dollars.
What's coming
In the digital currency market, they ensure that an economic context as uncertain as the current one fosters the search for alternatives offered by new technologies.
In Argentina, the growing adoption of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies (particularly those that maintain parity with the dollar, such as the stablecoin Dai), responds to the need to find options to what the traditional financial system offers.
"In this line, the demand for reliable information and financial education is growing," Fleischer adds. "Bitcoin has demonstrated once again that it is an important asset and works as a defense mechanism against crises generated by governments," says Vega.
The manager is encouraged to send a suggestion to Alberto Fernández: "Hopefully the incoming officials will take advantage of the great potential for value creation of digital currencies and the fintech world. It would be an interesting solution for the great myopia of always doing the same and waiting a different result. "
Beaudroit, on the other hand, explains that complex economic situations such as those in the country put these assets at the center of the scene, although he warns that there is no need to "focus on short-term movements."
How to buy Bitcoins in Argentina
Currently, there are several online exchange houses to buy and sell virtual currencies quickly and easily with local payment methods. One of the simplest options is to purchase them online at local exchanges. It is not necessary to know too much about how the Bitcoin wallet works, since they offer their own that facilitates the process.
That is, it is not necessary to operate with a public key, equivalent to a bank CBU, to identify the account; and a private one, which acts as a PIN to access it. Both are made up of an extensive series of alphanumeric characters.
In addition, they allow you to create an online account and buy and sell digital currencies through bank transfers, credit cards, Mercado Pago and even collection networks, such as Rapipago and Pago Fácil.
Some examples are:
- Satoshi Tango
- Gravel
- Bitex
- BuenBit
- CryptoMKT
In the following video, you can see how the operation is through SatoshiTango:
Another mechanism is to use the ATMs that Athena Bitcoin is installing in kiosks, shops and shopping malls. In this case, you can use the Athena wallet or that of a third party in the case of more experienced users.
To buy you have to enter tickets in the equipment that will be converted to pesos and enter the wallet address by scanning a QR code, printing a virtual wallet on paper or entering the address by hand (which is the least recommended option for the probability of error ).
In the following map you can find the terminals that are already operating in the country:
Finally, there is the possibility of acquiring the virtual currency in LocalBitcoin. It is the most used global platform to connect buyers with sellers. It is an option for people experienced in the use of crypto currencies and better rates are obtained than in exchanges.
In all cases, it will be necessary to provide personal information and scan an identity document and take a selfie, requirements requested from companies to comply with the anti-laundering regulations.
For four decades, Argentines did not hide their passion for saving in dollars. In the era of the digital economy, the tradition was reconverted "to measure": nothing better than to guard against any political decision that betting on a currency that no State regulates. The "libertarian" utopia version 4.0.
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