Argentinians are ditching the US dollar and turning to Bitcoin in droves amid 276% inflation: report
Argentinians are reportedly buying Bitcoin (BTC) instead of the US dollar to protect themselves from currency devaluation.
According to Bloomberg, Argentina-based crypto exchange Lemon is seeing a sharp increase in Bitcoin purchases as the South American country faces 276% inflation, one of the highest in the world.
In the week ending March 10, the exchange recorded 35,000 transactions to purchase the flagship crypto asset. This purchasing volume is twice as high as last year's weekly average.
Other major exchanges in Argentina such as Ripio and Belo are also seeing a similar trend.
According to Manuel Beaudroit, CEO of Belo, Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) purchasing volumes have increased tenfold so far in 2024 compared to the same period last year, while purchasing of currency-backed stablecoins fell from 70% to 60%.
“The user decides to buy Bitcoin when they see the news that the currency is rising, while stablecoin is more pragmatic and is often used for transaction purposes, as a means of payment abroad.”
According to the report, the US dollar has lost its safe-haven appeal over the past two months as Bitcoin's dollar value has risen 60%, dwarfing the Argentine peso's 10% gain against the greenback over the same period .
According to economist Nicolas Gadano, Argentines have about $200 billion in U.S. currency savings, exceeded only by dollar holdings in the United States and Russia.
But according to the report, locals are now using their dollar savings and making investments to protect themselves from inflation.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $67,817.
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