The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) is considering lifting the cryptocurrency ban on banks and allowing them to provide account holders with services related to digital assets, according to Argentine newspaper La Nacion.
The new rules for banks could be ready as early as April 2026, reports La Nacion, citing sources close to the BCRA.
The central bank has issued a law prohibiting banks from carrying out or facilitating transactions for their customers with cryptocurrencies. However, after Javier Milei became president in 2023, financial authorities took a more favorable stance towards cryptocurrencies.
The move is expected to further increase adoption in Argentina, a country that Chainalysys says is a global leader in grassroots cryptocurrency adoption, driven primarily by an economic crisis caused by triple-digit inflation, strict capital controls, and a fundamental distrust of the local peso. Chainalysis noted that Argentina ranked 15th for active crypto wallet users with 10 million.
Between July 2023 and June 2024, the country is estimated to have received $91 billion in on-chain transaction volume, making it the most active crypto market in Latin America. More than 60% of this activity involved stablecoins (like USDT), which Argentines use as a crucial mechanism to dollarize their savings and protect their purchasing power against currency devaluation, the report adds.
In Latin America, Brazil has the most explicit and comprehensive laws authorizing and regulating commercial banks to provide crypto services. Panama is permissive but does not have a framework managed by the central bank. While becoming the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender nationwide in 2021, El Salvador only recently (August 2025) passed a new banking law allowing private banks to offer digital asset services exclusively to wealthy investors.
UPDATE (December 8, 3:35 p.m. UTC): Removes description of La Nación as “conservative.”
