The central bank of Argentina has blocked the commercial banks from offering cryptocurrency trading after two of the country’s largest banks announced crypto offerings.
BCRA notes that the step is to protect users against potential risks of the asset class and the risk posed to the financial systems related to high volatility.
The announcement follows a move by top Argentinian banks, Banco Galicia and Brubank, to allow customers to trade BTC, Ethereum, USD Coin, and Ripple.
Banco Galicia says that the decision was informed by a survey which showed that 60% of the respondents wanted access to digital currencies.
The directive by BCRA has been attributed to a $44 billion extended debt plan from the International Monetary Fund which restricts Argentina from crypto use.
Argentinians have reportedly opted for cryptocurrencies, with the country’s inflation rate at 55.1% and 6.7% in March alone.
The country’s Capital Mayor, Horacio Rodriguez, recently announced plans to digitize the city by enabling citizens to remit their taxes with cryptocurrencies.
Source: Cointelegraph