Two major banking groups in Argentina are quietly working on peso-pegged stablecoins aimed at institutional clients, despite a ban on crypto services for banks.
BIND Group and Petersen Group are leading these projects through their subsidiaries to circumvent the 2022 central bank prohibition on private banks offering crypto products. BIND’s stablecoin is being developed via BEN, its virtual asset service provider, with a partnership involving Circle to support payments and treasury functions under local regulations. Petersen’s initiative, called DIPE, is backed by crypto-as-a-service provider Lirium and has already released a whitepaper.
These digital pesos are designed to enhance treasury management, enable payments tied to on-chain conditions, and facilitate collateralized credit operations for institutions. Unlike decentralized peso alternatives, these stablecoins come with the backing of established banking groups, hinting at a possible future expansion to private banks if the central bank lifts its ban.
However, regulatory hurdles remain. In March, the national securities regulator flagged the argt peso stablecoin as an unregistered security. The projects are moving cautiously, balancing innovation with compliance in a complex regulatory environment.
This material is informational and does not constitute financial advice.
