Argentina's largest private bank, Buenos Aires-based Banco Galicia, is making available to customers four different cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin, and XRP.
Screenshots of the buying options were posted on Twitter earlier today by bank customers, and Banco Galicia later confirmed to Decrypt in an emailed statement that it had added those services.
"Banco Galicia launches a new and innovative service for its customers customers, offering the purchase, sale and custody of cryptocurrencies in a simple, secure and one-stop place," the bank said.
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market cap and the most famous. Ethereum is the second biggest. USD Coin is a stablecoin, which means it's generally less volatile than both Bitcoin and Ethereum, which sometimes swing wildly in price. The asset is backed by real U.S. dollars.
XRP, the sixth largest digital asset by market cap, is a cryptocurrency used to help banks move money around quickly.
Banco Galicia also told Decrypt it may add more cryptocurrency options in the future.
The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, has suggested that he is amenable to the idea of crypto playing a larger role in Argentina’s economy, despite his own skepticism.
During an interview on Caja Negra, aired by Filo.news yesterday, Fernandez was asked if he would consider making use of a central bank digital currency, or perhaps even emulate El Salvador and adopt Bitcoin as legal lender. "I don't want to go too far out on a limb [...] but there is no reason to say ‘no,’” Fernandez said...
One reason crypto is popular in Argentina is because the country has one of the highest inflation rates in the world—year-on-year, it's currently over 50%, according to the nation’s central bank.
Bitcoiners have long claimed that the asset works as a hedge against inflation because the supply of the digital coins is capped at 21 million—but some experts say the cryptocurrency is closer correlated to equities.
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