Argentina’s banking-backed groups have moved closer to launching peso stablecoins for businesses, introducing digital peso projects designed for programmable payments while the country’s banking sector remains barred from offering crypto services directly. Summary Two Argentine banking backed financial groups are developing peso stablecoins for institutional payments through separate crypto subsidiaries. The projects focus on programmable treasury payments, collateral management, and onchain settlement while banks remain barred from offering crypto services directly. BIND Group is building its stablecoin through BEN, while Petersen Group’s DIPE project has already published a whitepaper. The initiatives come as Argentina weighs easing banking restrictions on crypto services and stablecoin adoption continues to grow across Latin America. According to a report by Iproup, two financial holding groups with banking operations are developing Argentine peso-backed stablecoins through separate virtual asset subsidiaries, positioning the products for institutional users rather than retail customers. The projects are being advanced outside the banking entities themselves because the Argentine Central Bank has prohibited private banks from providing crypto-related services since May 2022. BIND Group, which manages more than $2 billion in assets and owns BIND Banco Industrial, is developing a peso-backed stablecoin through its virtual asset service provider BEN, the report said. Earlier this year, BEN also entered a partnership with Circle to give institutional clients access to USDC for treasury management and payment applications under Argentina’s regulatory framework. A second initiative is being prepared by Petersen Group through one of its subsidiaries with technical support from crypto infrastructure provider Lirium, according to Iproup. The stablecoin, known as DIPE, already has a published whitepaper, suggesting the project has progressed beyond the early planning stage. Although neither offering has been launched publicly, both target corporate treasury operations instead of consumer payments. According to the report, the digital pesos are intended to support programmable payment conditions, collateral management, and treasury settlement using blockchain infrastructure. Peso stablecoins target enterprise payments Unlike U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, which have become popular in Argentina as a hedge against peso depreciation, the new projects focus on digitizing the local currency for business use. Institutional customers could use the tokens to automate transactions triggered by on-chain events, manage collateral-backed lending arrangements, and streamline treasury operations, Iproup reported. Because the stablecoins are being developed through licensed virtual asset subsidiaries rather than banks themselves, the initiatives currently remain outside the scope of the central bank’s restrictions on financial institutions. The report added that banking-backed ownership could eventually help expand adoption if regulators later allow banks to provide digital asset services directly. Argentine authorities are reportedly evaluating whether to ease the current restrictions, although no formal policy change has been announced. Regulatory scrutiny has already emerged for peso-linked stablecoins. In March, Argentina’s national securities regulator questioned the argt peso stablecoin, stating that it constituted a security being offered without complying with applicable regulations. Banking-backed stablecoins build on earlier digital peso efforts The latest projects are not Argentina’s first attempt to tokenize the national currency. In December 2022, lawmakers in the province of San Luis approved legislation establishing the legal framework for CityCoin, officially known as Activo Digital San Luis de Ahorro. The provincial stablecoin was designed to be backed by the government’s liquid financial assets while supporting blockchain-based public services, administrative efficiency, and financial innovation. The framework also authorized blockchain education initiatives and additional public-sector applications, although operational details for the stablecoin were left to future implementation. Unlike the San Luis initiative, which was introduced through provincial legislation for residents, the new peso-backed tokens are being developed by private financial groups and focus on enterprise financial infrastructure rather than public-sector digitalization. Stablecoin competition continues to expand across Latin America The Argentine projects also arrive as stablecoin adoption gains traction across Latin America’s banking sector. Earlier this month, Tether reportedly invested $20 million in Argentine digital bank Ualá as part of the lender’s $197 million funding round, according to Bloomberg. The investment followed Tether’s recent backing of Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin and Argentine crypto platform Belo, extending the company’s strategy of supporting digital payment infrastructure throughout the region. Elsewhere, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) recently launched a pilot program using stablecoins as the settlement layer for cross-border remittances. Under the project, international payments are settled through stablecoin rails before being converted into Philippine pesos for deposit into customers’ bank accounts, allowing blockchain-based settlement while keeping funds within the regulated banking system. Stablecoin usage keeps growing despite supply pullback The institutional focus of Argentina’s proposed peso stablecoins also comes as blockchain-based dollar payments continue expanding globally. CoinDesk Data reported that the global stablecoin market fell 2.39% during June to about $312 billion, recording the first monthly contraction in five months. Even so, Visa’s Allium-powered dashboard showed adjusted stablecoin transaction volume climbed to a record $1.79 trillion during the same month. The June figures indicate that stablecoin usage remained active despite lower circulating supply. Visa’s adjusted dataset includes filtered economic activity such as exchange transfers, decentralized finance transactions, lending, and on- and off-ramp activity rather than only merchant payments.
