Argentinians turn to stablecoins amid ongoing currency concerns

What 

Argentinian crypto exchanges reported a threefold increase in stablecoin purchases over the weekend 

Why 

Argentinians are storing their money in stablecoins as the value of the Argentinian pesos has continued its decline, with political and economic woes in the country leading to a further 15% depreciation of the currency over the weekend

What next 

Inflation in the country spiked 60% in the last year, and the peso is currently trading at around 126 pesos to the Dollar, whereas five years ago, 1 USD was worth 17 pesos

The story 

An Argentinian exchange noted a 300% increase in trading on Sunday as Argentinians bought stablecoins or used their stablecoin holdings as collateral for loans in the native pesos currency.

After business hours, Argentinians generally turn to the crypto markets first to check the current USD prices when signs of political unrest appear in the news, seeing that the exchanges are always open. “This drives volumes up,” Sebastian Serrano, CEO of the Argentina-based crypto exchange Ripio, told CoinDesk.

Last year, Argentina was among the top 10 biggest cryptocurrency adopters worldwide and the highest in the Americas, according to research by Chainalysis.

Learn more about stablecoins and their use cases on the Luno learning platform.