According to Chainalysis' “Geography of Cryptocurrency Report,” several Latin American countries rank among the top 20 for crypto adoption. The report highlights that the primary uses of cryptocurrency in the region are for international remittances and as a hedge against inflation, particularly in Argentina, where inflation exceeded 100% last year.

Agustin Liserra, CEO of Argentinian crypto firm Num Finance, noted that Latin Americans need tools for permissionless global transactions and for mitigating inflation and currency devaluation. He remarked, “These are significant issues in Argentina and Latin America. Although inflation is rapidly decreasing under Milei’s government, with monthly inflation dropping below one-digit figures, this is a notable improvement from last year’s over 100% inflation.”

Despite the decreasing inflation, Liserra pointed out that consumption and overall economic activity are declining in Argentina, and some products are unavailable. This makes crypto an ideal solution for these needs.

Num Finance provides tokenized traditional finance products, such as commodities, stocks, and currency-backed stablecoins, along with income products based on these stablecoins. Liserra explained that these products are chosen for their liquidity and regulatory framework, ensuring customer protection.

He added, “Mitigating inflation with high-yield products, like what we are doing with Num, is very useful. For instance, having a stablecoin of national currencies, such as the Argentinian peso, with a high yield compared to inflation, helps mitigate it. We believe there is significant growth potential for crypto in real-world financial applications, so we are focusing on that.”

Regarding regulation, Liserra mentioned that no major changes have occurred in Argentina since Milei took office. However, a regulatory bill might emerge next year. He explained, “Currently, there is no regulation requiring firms to report client operations to the regulator, just a registry to identify ecosystem players. The plan is to work with the government to develop a digital asset service provider regulation, which is unlikely to be implemented this year but possibly next year.”