DefiLlama report shows Argentina has 8.6M crypto users (20% of population) with $91B annual volume—highest per capita in Latin America—driven by hyperinflation and capital controls.
Macro & Markets ·
Argentina's crypto adoption has reached 8.6 million users as of 2024, equivalent to roughly 20% of the population, according to a new report produced in collaboration with Crecimiento. The figure includes 12.5% who remain active on a monthly basis—a proportion higher than any other country in Latin America. Annual transaction volumes exceed $91 billion, representing the highest per capita activity in the region.
The adoption surge reflects long-standing structural pressures: sustained annual inflation averaging 105% since 1944, government-imposed capital controls limiting USD purchases to $200 per month, and informal currency markets trading dollars at multiples of the official rate. These conditions created both economic necessity and opportunity for builders to develop crypto infrastructure without formal regulatory frameworks, a gap the government later chose to formalize rather than restrict.
The regulatory shift began in May 2024, coinciding with initial National Securities Commission (CNV) resolutions that established formal pathways for innovation. Whether local talent and companies will remain concentrated in Argentina rather than relocate to established hubs remains an open question, as does the sustainability of adoption and volume if macroeconomic conditions or policy directions shift.