Key facts:
- It is perceived that the communication from the BCRA was not entirely clear.
- Market Times verified that all Argentine exchanges are operational.
At the time of this publication, bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency exchanges are operating normally in Argentina. The fact is relevant after, for several hours, doubts and rumors spread on social networks.
Yesterday, the Central Bank of the South American country (BCRA) issued a statement announcing the prohibition of virtual wallets from offering crypto asset purchase and sale services. It was not clear, exactly, which companies were affected by such a measure and which were not.
Market Times was able to verify that, after 1:30 p.m. (local time) on this Friday, May 5, all the platforms specialized in the sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies continue to offer their operations. Some of them even issued statements on the subject.
From the Lemon broker, they posted on Twitter that “with the information available so far, it does not affect Lemon users.” It can be deduced from this statement that, on the part of the same company, there are doubts about the limits of the measure and how it will be applied. They clarify, however, that Lemon is an app based in El Salvador and it is not a “registered payment provider” (which is the type of company to which the restriction applies).
On the part of Belo, another exchange in Argentina, they clarified that “it continues to operate normally.” They add: “Our team has been working since day one to simplify people’s finances and will continue to do so.”
Ripio, one of the longest-running Bitcoin exchanges in the country, also spoke. “In principle, this new provision issued by the BCRA does not affect the operation of the services that Ripio offers to its users in Argentina,” they explain. In addition, they add that in other countries of the region, companies that provide payment services can usually offer cryptocurrencies without problems.
As this information portal detailed yesterday, the BCRA measure should affect Ualá, a virtual wallet registered as a payment service provider. Anyway, at the time of this publication the company, led by Pierpaolo Barbieri, continues to offer bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) from its app.
