Argentina's central bank bans banks from offering services with cryptocurrencies

Published on 06/May/2022 16:05

The announcement follows the Latin American country's agreement with the IMF, which stipulated that Argentina would discourage the use of cryptocurrencies.

The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) announced on Thursday afternoon that the country's banks cannot offer cryptocurrency services to their customers.

Read this article in Spanish.

BCRA regulations state that banks are prohibited from offering digital asset services that are not regulated by the central bank.
"The measure ordered by the BCRA Board of Directors aims to mitigate the risks associated with transactions involving these assets for users of financial services and for the financial system as a whole," the bank said in a statement Thursday.
The announcement comes just days after Banco Galicia, Argentina's largest private bank by market value, added the option to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on its platform. Also this week, local digital bank Brubank offered similar services.
A source familiar with the matter told CoinDesk that banks are expected to stop offering customers the option to buy and sell cryptocurrencies as of Friday.
In March, Argentina and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) restructured the debt with a new $45 billion loan that includes a section advising against the use of cryptocurrencies.

This article was translated by Marina Lammertyn.