Argentina Banking Restrictions on Crypto Transactions in 2025: What You Need to Know

4 December 2025 11 Comments Michael Jones

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Argentina’s banks can’t touch cryptocurrency anymore. Not for trading. Not for custody. Not even for converting Bitcoin to pesos. If you’re an Argentinian trying to buy crypto or send it abroad, you can’t go through your local bank. That’s not a glitch-it’s policy. Since March 2025, the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA) has officially banned all banks from offering crypto services. This isn’t a temporary freeze. It’s a permanent wall between traditional finance and digital assets.

Why Did Argentina Ban Banks from Crypto?

Argentina has been fighting inflation for decades. The peso has lost more than 90% of its value since 2018. People turned to Bitcoin, USDT, and other stablecoins to protect their savings. By 2025, 30% of Argentinians owned some form of cryptocurrency. But the central bank saw a problem: every time someone bought crypto with pesos, they were draining foreign currency reserves. Banks were acting as gateways for capital flight-even if users didn’t mean to break rules.

The BCRA’s solution? Cut the link. No more bank accounts linked to crypto wallets. No more automated crypto purchases through banking apps. No more peso-to-USDT conversions at ATMs or online portals. The goal wasn’t to stop crypto. It was to stop banks from enabling it.

What Changed in 2025? The New Rules

The real shift came with CNV Resolution 1058/2025, issued on March 14, 2025. This law didn’t ban crypto. It restructured it. Now, every crypto service-trading, custody, exchange, staking-must go through a licensed Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). These are private companies registered with Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV), not banks.

Here’s what VASPs must do to operate legally:

Register with the CNV by strict deadlines: individuals by July 1, 2025; local companies by August 1; foreign firms targeting Argentinians by September 1.
Hold a minimum net worth in USD-ranging from $500,000 to $5 million depending on service type.
Follow FATF-style anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) rules.
Report suspicious transactions within 150 days.
Submit monthly reports on client count, trading volume, and top assets used.

The full framework kicks in on December 31, 2025. After that, any VASP not registered is illegal. And any bank caught helping crypto users faces heavy fines-or worse.

But Didn’t Argentina Lift Currency Controls?

Yes-and that’s what makes this so strange.

In April 2025, the government scrapped the cepo cambiario, the strict currency controls that once limited how many US dollars you could buy each month. Suddenly, anyone could legally buy dollars, gold, or crypto without government permission. On paper, crypto became more free than ever.

But here’s the catch: you still can’t use your bank account to do it.

So now Argentinians are stuck in a split system. You can withdraw pesos from your bank. You can buy dollars with cash at a currency exchange. But if you want to turn those pesos into USDT? You need to use a VASP. You can’t link your bank card. You can’t auto-deposit from your savings account. You have to manually transfer money to a VASP’s fiat gateway-often through a third-party payment processor-and hope it doesn’t get flagged.

What About Tokenized Assets and Real Estate?

Argentina didn’t just ban banks from crypto. It built a whole new financial layer on top of it.

In June 2025, the CNV issued General Resolution No. 1069/2025, the country’s first rules for tokenizing real estate, stocks, and bonds using blockchain. Now, you can buy a share of a Buenos Aires apartment as a digital token. You can trade shares of a local farm as an NFT. But guess what? You can’t do it through your bank.

These tokenized assets are traded exclusively on VASP platforms. The entire capital market is being rebuilt on blockchain-without any help from traditional banks. It’s like Argentina is building a second financial system, parallel to the old one, and only letting specialized players in.

A fox-run VASP booth in a street market where people trade pesos for crypto using cartoon cash and a glowing ledger.

How Does This Affect Everyday People?

If you’re an Argentinian using crypto to save money, here’s what you’re dealing with now:

You can’t use Mercado Pago, BBVA, or Banco Galicia to buy crypto.
You can’t deposit pesos directly into Binance or Kraken from your local account.
You can’t cash out crypto into your bank account without going through a VASP first.
You must use a VASP’s P2P gateway, often involving cash deposits, bank transfers to a third party, or even in-person exchanges.

For many, this means longer wait times, higher fees, and more risk. Some VASPs charge 3-8% just to process a fiat deposit. Others freeze accounts if they suspect a transaction is linked to a bank that’s been flagged.

And if you’re a tourist or digital nomad? You can’t just use your crypto card to pay for coffee. Most merchants accept crypto-but only if you pay through a VASP app. No bank-backed crypto debit cards work in Argentina anymore.

What About Taxes and Legal Compliance?

Argentina also passed Law 27,743 in 2025, requiring all crypto holders to declare their holdings for tax purposes. A one-time regularization window opened in March and closed on September 30, 2025. If you didn’t declare your Bitcoin, Ethereum, or USDT by then, you’re now at risk of penalties.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) monitors VASPs for suspicious activity. If you’re sending $10,000 in USDT to a friend in Brazil, the VASP has to report it. That’s not because it’s illegal-it’s because they’re required to track every move. The system is designed to make crypto transparent, not invisible.

Who’s Winning? Who’s Losing?

Big VASPs like Bitso, Ripio, and local players like Coinmama Argentina are thriving. They’ve raised millions to meet compliance costs, hired legal teams, and built secure fiat on-ramps.

But small operators? They’re struggling. A guy running a crypto exchange from his apartment in Rosario can’t afford a $500,000 net worth requirement. He can’t hire a compliance officer. He can’t afford monthly reporting software. Many have shut down.

Even institutional investors are affected. TRON, Solana, and other blockchain projects want to enter Argentina-but they can’t integrate with banks. They have to partner with VASPs, which adds complexity and delays.

Split city scene: dull banks on one side, glowing crypto towers on the other, with a robot enforcing the ban.

Is This Working?

So far, yes-for the central bank.

Foreign exchange reserves have stabilized. Capital flight through crypto has dropped by 62% since the ban took effect. The peso is still weak, but it’s not collapsing.

But the cost? A fragmented financial system. Argentinians now juggle two worlds: one where banks handle pesos, and another where VASPs handle crypto. It’s slower. It’s more expensive. And it’s confusing for newcomers.

Still, Argentina is the only country in Latin America that has built a full legal framework for crypto without letting banks in. Brazil and Colombia let banks offer crypto services. Mexico allows it under strict rules. Argentina chose isolation. And now, it’s becoming a model-for better or worse.

What’s Next?

By 2026, VASPs will likely start offering crypto-backed loans and yield products. Some may even issue their own tokens. But they’ll still need to keep their fiat operations completely separate from banks.

There’s talk of a government-backed digital peso-but even that won’t connect to crypto. The BCRA wants to keep the two systems apart forever.

If you’re in Argentina, your best move is to pick one registered VASP, complete their KYC, and stick with it. Don’t try to bounce between platforms. Don’t use unlicensed exchanges. And never, ever try to hide your crypto from the tax authorities. The system is watching.

What If You’re Outside Argentina?

If you’re traveling to Argentina and want to use crypto, bring your own wallet. Don’t expect to cash out at ATMs. Don’t assume your crypto card will work. Use apps like LocalBitcoins or Paxful to find VASP-registered traders. Pay in cash if you can. Or use a peer-to-peer platform that accepts bank transfers from non-Argentinian accounts.

And if you’re thinking of launching a crypto business here? Forget banks. Build your entire operation around VASPs. Hire local compliance experts. Budget for monthly reporting. And accept that you’ll never have the convenience of a bank account.