The Argentinean central bank is cracking down on cryptocurrencies. The bank stated in a statement yesterday that payment platforms are no longer permitted to provide customers with digital assets like Bitcoin.

The purpose, according to the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA), was to "mitigate risks."

Customers can trade cryptocurrencies with a variety of well-known businesses, such as finance behemoth Ualá and online marketplace Mercado Libre.



According to a statement released on Thursday, "Payment vendors that provide payment accounts aren't allowed to carry out or improve trades using crypto  assets, including bitcoin and other digital currencies, to their customers if they are not governed by the competent national authority and authorised by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA),"

Other than to protect clients, the bank's announcement did not go into any detail as to why.

It now means that significant platforms—including Mercado Libre, Latin America's Amazon—will no longer be allowed to provide Argentines with services for purchasing Bitcoin.

Argentina, the third-largest economy in Latin America, currently has one of the worst inflation rates in the world: last month, it shot beyond 100% for the first time in three decades.

The adoption of Bitcoin as a saviour for common Argentinians who cannot save or are being forced into poverty due to the collapse of the peso has been advocated by a number of cryptocurrency firms operating in the nation and even by one well-known presidential candidate.

Although they are not regulated in the South American country, cryptocurrencies are rising in popularity. Argentina is one of the cryptocurrency economies with the quickest rate of growth, according to blockchain research company Chainalysis, which placed it at number 13 in its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index last year.

Argentina Bans Dollar Purchases From Bitcoin Traders

The important LaBitConf event was held in Buenos Aires, the nation's capital, last year, and featured speeches regarding Argentina's expanding role in the bitcoin ecosystem from a number of prominent cryptocurrency figures, including MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.