Argentina Breaks 3-Year Crypto Ban: Central Bank Greenlights Bitcoin Banking Services

Argentina's financial landscape just got a digital upgrade—and a major policy reversal. The Central Bank is officially lifting a three-year prohibition, allowing traditional banks to offer Bitcoin and cryptocurrency services directly to customers.

From Ban to Banking

This isn't a minor regulatory tweak; it's a full-scale pivot. For three years, financial institutions were barred from touching crypto. Now, they're being handed the keys to custody, trading, and investment products. The move effectively bridges the nation's formal banking sector with the digital asset economy it once shunned.

The Ripple Effect

Expect immediate operational shifts. Banks can now develop wallets, facilitate BTC purchases, and potentially create yield-bearing crypto accounts. It grants millions of Argentinians a regulated on-ramp, moving crypto from the tech-savvy fringe to the financial mainstream overnight. For a country familiar with currency volatility, it offers a stark alternative to the peso—a digital hedge sitting right in your existing bank app.

A Calculated Gambit

The reversal signals a pragmatic, if not desperate, embrace of financial innovation. Facing persistent inflation and capital controls, the state is co-opting the very technology it feared might undermine its monetary authority. It's a classic case: if you can't beat the decentralized revolution, try to regulate and tax its on-ramps. One cynical observer might note it's easier for a central bank to track transactions on a bank's Bitcoin ledger than in a hidden physical safe—bringing new meaning to "transparency."

Argentina's three-year crypto winter is over. The thaw won't just create new services; it redefines the relationship between traditional finance and digital assets in a major emerging economy. Watch how quickly "too risky" becomes "core offering."

Argentina, a nation where people use crypto as a daily tool to survive inflation, is considering lifting its 3-year ban on banks’ crypto activities, allowing trading and custody under a new regulatory framework. 

If approved, Argentina’s central banks WOULD finally be allowed to let customers buy, sell, and even store cryptocurrencies directly from their banking apps.

Argentina’s Central Bank Eyes Crypto Services for Banks

Since May 2022, Argentina’s central bank, the Banco Central de la Republica Argentina (BCRA), has maintained strict regulations prohibiting traditional banks from dealing with crypto. The goal was to reduce money-laundering risks and avoid financial instability.

But under President Javier Milei, a known Bitcoin supporter, the country is rethinking that approach.

Since taking office in December 2023, President Milei has pushed for more financial freedom and believes people should be free to use different currencies, including Bitcoin, without heavy government controls.

ARGENTINA’S CENTRAL BANK JUST ANNOUNCED BANKS CAN OFFER #BITCOIN AND CRYPTO SERVICES

HERE WE GO!! pic.twitter.com/0yCYXLT4MA

What the New Framework Could Bring?

Multiple reports confirm that the BCRA is drafting a new framework that would allow banks to offer,

• Offer crypto trading
• Provide crypto custody
• List only major “blue-chip” coins like BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT, and XRP
• Follow strict KYC/AML rules under new CNV regulations
• Operate crypto services inside separate legal units with higher capital, security, and liquidity requirements

Argentina is moving from banning crypto to fully regulating it, becoming one of the first inflation-hit countries to bring crypto into its banking system.

Why Argentina Is Making This Move Now

Crypto use in Argentina has grown very fast in the last three years. Many people turned to bitcoin and stablecoins because the peso kept losing value.

Inflation once hit 1,427% in 2023, and even now it stays above 2% each month, so families use crypto to protect their money.

By letting banks offer crypto services, the BCRA wants to make crypto safer, reduce the use of informal platforms, improve tax tracking, and keep money flowing more smoothly in the economy.

Approval Timeline: April 2026

Experts familiar with the news believe the final green light may arrive around April 2026, but internal planning has already begun. 

If completed, Argentina could become a global case study in how traditional banking and crypto can work together during an inflation crisis.