Argentina seems because the central level of the growth of neobanks in 2026. In a rustic the place the greenback is a refuge from inflation, stablecoins emerge in its place for Argentines to keep up buying energy with out relying on the standard banking system.
Neobanks might reap the benefits of this chance as a result of their digital infrastructure and talent to scale rapidly It permits them to supply progressive providers that conventional banks can’t (or at the least not with the identical pace).
Earlier than persevering with, let’s outline neobanks as 100% digital banking monetary entities (regulated by the BCRA in Argentina), with out bodily branches, that function by means of cellular functions or internet platforms.
In contrast to conventional banks, neobanks had been born with their very own technological infrastructure primarily based on APIs and versatile methods. This enables them to develop merchandise quicker, function with minimal prices, and scale to new markets in a matter of weeks.
Distinguished examples akin to Ualá, Brubank and Naranja X already function in Argentina, concentrating a part of the expansion of digital finance. Nevertheless, immediately they can’t supply merchandise linked to stablecoins or cryptocurrencies. Since Might 2022, the Central Financial institution of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) ordered that entities below its orbit not take part, straight or not directly, within the supply of cryptoassets to shoppers to mitigate dangers to customers and the monetary system.
For now, banks (together with neobanks) are prohibited from providing the sale and buy of cryptocurrencies, so integrating stablecoins in Argentina would require regulatory modifications that allow their use throughout the monetary system.
Its advance guarantees to rework the way in which Argentines save, make investments and relate to the monetary system.
Why are neobanks focusing on Argentina?
Based on a report by Moic Digital, a digital asset advertising and marketing company, in Latin America using cryptocurrencies “is just not targeted on hypothesis with bitcoin (BTC), NFTs or betting on altcoins.” Moreover, the report highlights: “The usage of stablecoins as financial savings and cost instruments denominated in {dollars} is highlighted.”
The report additionally factors out that “exercise with stablecoins represents between 50% and 90% of crypto transactions in the primary markets within the area.” Moreover, he provides: “Give it some thought: when somebody in Argentina or Venezuela buys cryptocurrencies, they aren’t shopping for BTC hoping it can rise, however reasonably buying USDT to guard themselves from the collapse of their native foreign money.”
It’s value clarifying that the latter, in fact, is just not completely correct, however reasonably an exaggeration. It’s recognized that each Argentina and Venezuela have a big bitcoiner neighborhood, which incorporates long-term hodlers and likewise short-term merchants or speculators with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
However, returning to the report reviewed, stablecoins not solely mirror a cultural change, but in addition a enterprise alternative. In actual fact, Moic Digital means that Neobanks might capitalize on this curiosity by incorporating providers primarily based on digital currencies.
In different phrases, Moic’s thesis is that neobanks ought to enter that phaseproviding financial savings, funds and funding in digital {dollars} inside a regulated and accessible surroundings for the frequent consumer.
How does this look in Argentina? To learn the phenomenon it’s handy to separate possession from use. Based on knowledge from Lemon (a bitcoin and cryptocurrency alternate), The portfolio composition of native customers exhibits extra bitcoin (33%) than stablecoins (26%) and pesos.
Nevertheless, when the operations are noticed, stablecoins achieve relevance as a result of their financial savings and cost operate in digital {dollars}. That’s to say, though the customers of that alternate have extra BTC of their walletson a regular basis use is more and more targeting stablecoins.
Lemon’s spokesperson defined to CriptoNoticias that “in 2024, the panorama modified: inflation decreased, the greenback stabilized in opposition to the peso (alternate stability) and BTC reached historic highs.”
“One may assume that with calm, stablecoins would lose relevance. However the reverse occurred. Even with the opening of the alternate market in 2025, when the shares had been eradicated and the acquisition of {dollars} in banks was enabled, the quantity operated in stablecoins inside Lemon grew by greater than 20% in comparison with the earlier semester,” they detailed.
That’s, stablecoins They’re not only a haven of worth or safety in opposition to inflationhowever a useful infrastructure on which funds, loans, remittances and world monetary merchandise are constructed, as seen within the following graph:
In brief, based on Moic Digital’s observations, neobanks are already focusing on Argentina and different Latin American international locations as a result of the area meets the situations that flip this thesis right into a concrete alternative: a de facto dollarized financial system, a financially lively inhabitants within the digital surroundings, however outdoors the standard banking system; and an ecosystem of digital belongings that already operates as a parallel monetary system.
In the event that they promote and procure clear guidelines for working with BTC and stablecoins, neobanks shall be ready to additional unite the standard monetary system with the digital infrastructure that strikes the area.
