Bitcoin in Argentine Banks: Central Bank Defers Decision to a Second Term for Milei

Conditional promise in Buenos Aires. A senior official from the Argentine Central Bank (BCRA) acknowledges that progress on cryptocurrencies will be necessary, but not this year or the next. The matter will wait for a potential second term of Javier Milei, which means at least 2028. Banks have already been waiting since May 2022, when the BCRA prohibited them from offering cryptocurrencies to their clients.

Key points of this article:

• The Argentine Central Bank has postponed the integration of cryptocurrencies into banks until a potential second term for Javier Milei, which is at least 2028.
• The ban imposed in May 2022 by the Argentine Central Bank regarding cryptocurrency-related services remains in effect, citing risks to the financial system in a fragile economic context.

Cryptocurrencies in Argentina, Central Bank Responds "Later"

The scene takes place at Pulso 2026, the meeting of the Argentine Chamber of Payment Methods. Juan Curutchet leads the supervision of banks and exchange at the BCRA. He is about to leave the podium. Then he hesitates. "You didn’t ask me about the dollar or cryptocurrencies. That’s very good, because nothing will happen this year. But I see it as possible during a second presidency of Milei," he says, according to a report published by La Nación on October 7, 2026.

The timeline is clear. The Argentine presidential election will take place in October 2027, and the winner will take office on December 10 of the same year. No easing before 2028, provided the outgoing president runs again and wins.

The regulator cites the state of the country to justify this delay.

"Today, we have a level of fragility that does not allow us to advance that much. But I believe there is an agenda pending for later."

Bitcoin and Argentine Banks, a Break Resolved in 48 Hours

We must return to May 2022. Banco Galicia and the online bank Brubank then announce that their clients will be able to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies from their app. Less than 48 hours later, the Argentine Central Bank publishes a regulation that prohibits cryptocurrencies for all financial institutions. It cites risks for users and the financial system in a country where inflation was then at 55.1% year-on-year.

Four years have passed. The ban still stands, under a president elected at the end of 2023 who promised to close the same Central Bank. The sector took the declaration literally. Julián Colombo leads the exchange platform Bitso in South America. "Probably, during a possible second presidency of Milei, they will allow it," he anticipates in Forbes Argentina.

Before Cryptocurrencies, the BCRA Wants to Regain Control Over Fintechs

You may wonder what occupies the Central Bank in the meantime. The answer is three letters: PSP, for payment service providers, these digital wallets and fintechs that have grown faster than the rules. Juan Curutchet describes a banking system reduced by decades of monetary erosion, coupled with a sophisticated payment system. His own superintendency was "orphaned of resources" to keep up with the movement.

The BCRA has therefore created a directorate responsible for controlling these players. It has also tightened the obligation for banks to report fraud, and reports have surged by 150% in the wake of this. The superintendent wants to be able to revoke a license as quickly as he grants it. He cites the precedent of exchange offices, of which the country had about 300 licenses under Mauricio Macri before proxies took advantage once exchange controls were reinstated.

The argument holds. Opening the gates to bitcoin with an overwhelmed supervisor would be like adding a floor on fragile foundations.

Javier Milei will address this deadline with the memecoin Libra case on his hands, a parliamentary report having implicated him. For Argentine banks, the next window opens after the presidential election in October 2027.

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