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- The hub will connect institutions with regulators to establish compliance and credibility.
- The news comes as cryptocurrency payments in Argentina continue to rise as workers seek to fend off rampant inflation in the country’s native currency.
Argentina has launched a so-called “innovation hub” to boost fintech and cryptocurrency startups in a regulated manner.
The idea is to bring private institutions together with Argentine regulators from the start to establish compliance and credibility, the country’s National Securities Commission, known locally as CNV, said this week.
The regulator said that the hub is designed to “encourage and promote the interaction of innovative entities that operate or intend to operate in the Argentine capital market.”
It also aims to “reduce the time to market innovative services and products and allow compliance with the Argentine regulatory framework,” added the financial regulator.
Companies wishing to participate in the center must submit an application. Criteria include evidence that the company will use emerging technologies, clear use cases for the company’s product, and a demonstrated need for regulatory clarity or guidance for the company.
The selected companies will be required to attend workshops and meet regularly with regulators for “support sessions,” the CNV said.
The launch comes as Latin American countries continue to take a closer look at crypto and blockchain technology, on the heels of The Savior leveraging bitcoin as its sovereign currency.
Cryptocurrency exchanges in Argentina have grown in recent months as inflation rises and companies seek to take advantage of existing local regulatory loopholes. Argentina allows employees to be paid up to 20% in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, which a good number of workers take advantage of in an effort to stave off rampant inflation of the country’s native peso.
Between July and December 2021, 52% of payment withdrawals in cryptocurrency through a payroll company Of the It came from the workers in Latin America.
“There is a lot of noise, there is a lot of attention around cryptocurrencies and there are several exchanges throughout the region, and particularly in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil. [and] Argentina,” said Anabel Pérez, CEO and co-founder of NovoPayment, following El Salvador’s bitcoin move. “But I think we are in the early stages of seeing the impact of cryptocurrencies in the economies of Latin America.”
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