Argentina’s Central Bank has released a new set of restrictions that affect citizens and businesses that have purchased cryptocurrency to use as a hedge against currency devaluation. The bank will only sell dollars at an official rate to individuals and businesses that have not purchased crypto for at least 90 days prior to the operation, in an effort to curb the rise in the exchange rate.
Argentine Crypto Users Banned From Buying Dollars On Official Markets
The Argentinian government is trying to stop the climb that the blue dollar exchange rate, the price of the US dollar in the country’s informal markets, has had for the past few weeks. Argentina’s Central Bank has issued a resolution that excludes companies and individuals who have purchased cryptocurrencies from accessing dollars at the official rate.
Communication, identified with number 7552, declares that access to official dollar markets will be open to individuals and businesses who:
Not having remitted funds in local currency or other local assets (with the exception of funds in foreign currencies deposited in local financial entities) to any natural or legal person, resident or non-resident, related or not, receiving in return prior or subsequent, directly or indirectly, by itself or through a related, controlled or controlling entity, foreign assets, crypto assets or securities deposited abroad.
These restrictions will need to be met 90 days prior to purchasing dollars on the official market.
Closing the loophole and local reactions
According to local sources, the new set of restrictions would aim to close the loophole that some organizations use by taking advantage of exchange control channels for their own profit, buying cheap dollars at an official rate and then using them to buy cryptocurrencies to exchange them at a higher rate. The Argentine Central Bank has also introduced a new restriction that prohibits buyers of these dollars from buying any cryptocurrency within 90 days of the operation, to avoid the situations described.
Reactions from Argentines were mostly negative, with some questioning the effectiveness of such a measure. Agustin Monteverde, economist, criticized the logic of this measure. He declared:
The measure is arbitrary and discretionary. It is unclear why anyone who has purchased a certain commodity (because that is what cryptos are) cannot access the forex market.
The measure began to be applied on July 22, and Argentines are already looking to migrate from traditional exchanges, which must inform about crypto transactions, to equalsbased on exchanges, where transactions can be private between two parties.
What do you think of the new restrictions the Argentinian government has imposed on crypto investors? Tell us in the comment section below.
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