The planet is undergoing an unprecedented healthcare collapse, in which many companies migrated to telework and much of the "traditional" economy is affected by the unemployment imposed by isolation policies.
In this context, companies around the world are appealing to telework to continue operating and some even publish offers on freelance employment platforms to hire professionals "by project" so that their plans continue despite the pandemic.
"During the quarantine, the number of monthly unique users grew by 50%," Guillermo Bracciaforte, CEO of Workana, which has three million subscribers worldwide and 430,000 on albiceleste soil, tells iProUP.
Sebastián Siseles, international vice president of Freelancer.com, with 43 million users, agrees with the trend: "We went from 460,000 to more than 500,000 people in the country," he remarks.
Argentines also participate in this international talent marketplace: it is estimated that there are more than a million who offer their programming, finance, design, translation, and finance services among a host of disciplines.
However, these professionals are hit twice by the crisis: not only many of them had to go out to look for a job due to the local situation, but the exchange restrictions force them to pesify the remuneration they obtain from PayPal or similar payment platforms, losing 80 % with respect to the blue dollar.
Thus, they are increasingly taking refuge in peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, which link users who sell digital assets (such as PayPal balances or digital currencies) with those who want to buy them, obtaining better quotes. One of the main global companies came to the country and promises to be the favorite of Creole freelancers.
At the beginning of the year, the Paxful platform started its local operation to offer low-cost digital currency exchange. Thus, the company allows you to exchange Bitcoin and other crypto currencies through bank transfers or fintech (Mercado Pago and Ualá), Paypal and Pago Fácil.
"We grew 108% in the number of new Argentine users during the last month, with an increase of almost 40% in the volume operated," Magdiela Rivas, Paxful Latin America manager, assures iProUP, who details the functions that the platform allows:
- Remittances: send money anywhere in the world
- Payments: pay in places all over the planet
- Savings: Bitcoin has performed better than many currencies like the Argentine peso
- Exchange: from local currency to dollar or other currencies
- Arbitration: buy bitcoin cheap and sell more expensive
Precisely, the latter is one of the most interesting options for Argentine professionals who receive remuneration from abroad in US banknotes through PayPal, since:
- They buy with these funds virtual currencies to users from other countries, in which a Bitcoin costs $ 9,660 (fractions can be purchased)
- They sell to users in Argentina (they receive pesos in bank accounts or fintech), a market in which the currency is sold at $ 1.2 million
From the firm they add, in addition, that "many professionals use Bitcoin for their fees from abroad, since it is a faster and cheaper way of receiving payments."
Although there is no cost to purchase coins, sales do: 1%. In short, the process allows 124 pesos to be obtained for every PayPal dollar, a value similar to blue.
In addition, to avoid the fluctuation of the currency itself, the platform also offers the possibility of acquiring DAI (a stablecoin or stable currency for its fixed price) that maintains parity with the dollar and is widely used in Argentina, as reported by iProUP.
The Paxful platform offers its own wallet (on the web and apps for Android and iPhone), so all transactions are made within its ecosystem.
Thus, there is no need to know about virtual currency wallets, which require the use of the public key, a kind of CBU that is given to the counterparty to receive funds; and the private one, which preserves and officiates the times of a password.
The operation is simple, since it is a marketplace in which:
- A user (seller) posts an offer to sell Bitcoin or other currencies
- Another person (the buyer) finds that offer through the search engine and starts the purchase process
- Once the operation is closed, the system indicates to both parties the steps to follow to transfer the funds
"We ensure that the transaction is secure through the guarantee or escrow service. It aims to ensure a fair transaction experience for both parties," says Rivas.
And he adds: "When an operation starts, the Bitcoin from the seller's wallet is automatically transferred to a temporary safe deposit account, from an independent third party, until the operation is completed."
According to the executive, this is how he protects himself:
- "To sellers, from fraudulent buyers, by demanding that Bitcoins be deposited in advance"
- "To the buyers of the sellers, who refuse to send the coins to them after payment"
"We also have a very serious Compliance team that prevents the presence of bad actors on our platform, such as people interested in money laundering or terrorism," says Rivas.
In effect, Paxful has KYC systems (Know Your Costumer or Know your customer), so users must prove their identity in each transaction to avoid the illegal use of funds.
In Argentina there is Saldos.com.ar, a startup that offers a similar system to market digital funds such as PayPal or its rivals (Neteller, Skrill) and transfer them to pesos.
"In a short time we grew by 500%. Our users are mainly audiovisual producers, software factories, engineers from various branches, graphic and industrial designers, musicians and even Youtubers," Pablo Reyes, CEO of the firm, tells iProUP.
The entrepreneur assures that the platform is also widely used to load balance in these digital services, an option banned by the BCRA since last year when communication A 6823 cut the "PayPal Dollar".
"What we do is connect people who are going to transact digital balances and 100% of the operations are covered. If something should happen, we respond. The user does not worry about security or exchanges," added Reyes.
According to Guillermo Navarro, from the Bildenlex Abogados study, "the purchase of digital assets, such as balances in PayPal, is not prohibited by law. It is an operation similar to Bitcoin." And complete: "They do brokerage, which is allowed. They only have to comply with KYC and tax regulations."
Regarding the operation, Reyes assures that supply and demand are "those who define the quotes", so that "at the beginning of the month it is usually cheaper to buy a balance on PayPal since many freelancers collect their fees."
"By paying, you freeze the price. The machinery is activated there: we ensure the operation and the transfer is done in 24 hours," he remarks.
In this way, Saldos.com.ar allows:
- Transfer from a bank account to one in PayPal at a value of $ 109 per dollar
- Then, you can change that balance in Paxful to $ 124 per green ticket, earning 13% in a few minutes
It is an operation similar to the "mashed dollar" - which consists of selling foreign currency purchased at the official price in the parallel market - but with the difference that it is completely legal. And the monthly cap of US $ 200 does not apply to purchases of foreign currency.
Thus, technology once again gives a helping hand to professionals who sell services abroad and seek to make their salaries pay more in times of crisis. And they add a new page to the Argentine survival manual.