One in five Argentines uses cryptocurrency, an a16z crypto analysis published August 30, 2026 found, with Artemis data showing dollar-pegged stablecoins account for 94% of peso-denominated crypto trading volume—the highest share among major currencies the firm tracks. Peso-based crypto activity therefore functions largely as a route to digital dollars rather than speculation on volatile tokens, extending a long habit of dollar saving after the 2001–2002 deposit freeze and forced conversion under Decree 214/2002 and after currency controls returned in 2019 with a $200 monthly purchase cap and a 30% withholding tax on foreign-currency transactions. Year-over-year inflation reached 212% in April 2024 as Deel payroll data showed Argentina-based contractor USDC pay rising alongside prices; by July 2026 both indexed series were near one-fifth of their earlier peaks, while monthly inflation stood at 2.1% and annual inflation at 33.8% per the central bank. Between April 11 and April 14, 2025, President Javier Milei’s government lifted the purchase cap and eliminated the withholding tax under an IMF-supported program that introduced a managed floating exchange rate initially banded between ARS 1,000 and ARS 1,400 per dollar. The BCRA said individuals bought $2.25 billion for foreign-asset formation in April 2025, and Argentines have since purchased more than $26 billion in dollars through formal channels, about $22.7 billion on a net basis, shrinking the stablecoin premium to roughly 4% by late August 2026. Even so, downloads of the country’s 15 leading crypto apps rose 93% in 2024 and Lemon wallet downloads increased every quarter as monthly inflation fell from 25.5% to 2.1%; Lemon’s 2024 customer data also showed Bitcoin above 36% of assets held on its platform versus about 27% in stablecoins and 18% in pesos, underscoring that heavy stablecoin trading flows need not match portfolio balances.