a16z Reveals: Why Argentines 'Buy Crypto to Buy Dollars'? Stablecoins Become a National Habit After Crisis

Author: a16z crypto

Compiled by: Shenchao TechFlow

Shenchao Introduction: Argentina is one of the markets with the highest cryptocurrency adoption rates globally, but what truly deserves attention is not just the inflation-hedging story. After the crisis eased, stablecoin usage did not recede; instead, it settled into a habit. This is a sample that cannot be ignored for understanding stablecoin stickiness in emerging markets, dollarization trends, and the direction of the payment sector.

Where in the world are people using cryptocurrency? How do they use it? Let's start with Argentina. There, one in five people uses cryptocurrency, one of the highest rates in Latin America.

This all happened quickly. In 2024, downloads of the top 15 crypto apps in Argentina nearly doubled, growing 93% year-over-year.

Argentines' preference for the dollar predates cryptocurrency. In 2001-2002, the government froze bank deposits and forcibly converted dollar deposits and loans into pesos through Decree 214/2002. After the dollar peg ended, the exchange rate fell from 1 peso per dollar to nearly 4 pesos, wiping out about three-quarters of the peso's dollar value. This crisis deepened distrust in the peso and reinforced the habit of keeping savings in physical dollars outside the banking system—like stuffing money under the mattress or in a safe.

After the government reimposed foreign exchange controls in 2019, stablecoins began to heat up in Argentina. Within months, the government limited Argentines' official monthly dollar purchase quota to $200, and additional eligibility rules shut many people out entirely. Dollar-pegged stablecoins became an alternative way to hold dollars without relying on the official market.

Recently, stablecoins have accounted for an increasing share of contractor compensation. In April 2024, year-over-year inflation reached 289%, and during the same period, the proportion of Argentine contractors receiving salaries in USDC also rose.

The above data comes from a16z portfolio company Deel, which helps process payroll in over 160 countries. Using this dataset as an indicator, we can simultaneously see the monthly proportion of Argentine contractors receiving salaries in USDC and the year-over-year inflation rate.

Since both indicators are benchmarked to January 2024, we see changes relative to that point, not raw values. For a period, the two indicators seemed to move in sync. Then inflation slowed, and stablecoin usage seemed to decline as well. As of July 2026, both remain at about one-fifth of their respective peaks.

In Argentina, "buying crypto" with pesos means "buying dollars." 94% of peso-crypto transactions flow to stablecoins—the highest stablecoin share among all major currencies tracked by Artemis.

Interestingly, for several years, the price of crypto dollars was much higher than dollars bought at the official exchange rate.

By 2023, the country's capital controls prevented many Argentines from buying official dollars, pushing the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates to over 100%. Stablecoins became an alternative because they can be traded 24/7 and are unaffected by controls. After Argentina lifted most restrictions on individual dollar purchases in April 2025, the two exchange rates largely converged.

As of August 28, 2026, one digital dollar costs about 4% more than a dollar purchased through the official market.

Argentina's economic crisis now seems to be cooling. Inflation has fallen, buying dollars is legal, and the pressures that initially drove many Argentines to stablecoins have eased. You might expect usage to fade. But that's not the case.

Wage usage hasn't disappeared; it has plateaued. Downloads of Lemon, one of Argentina's largest crypto wallets, have climbed every quarter, even as monthly inflation dropped from 25.5% to 2.1%.

For Argentines, stablecoins may no longer be just a hedge against inflation—they may be becoming a habit.