According to the information shown by the Argentine authorities, 80% of the companies in the cryptocurrency sector registered and operating in the country are native or are already registered under Argentine jurisprudence. This data highlights the influence of the sector in the community of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs in the nation.
The registry of Virtual Asset Service Providers (PSAV), prepared by the National Securities Commission (CNV), reveals that at least 100 entities offer these services, with 80% being native to Argentina.
Of these, 80 companies have their Unique Tax Identification Code (CUIT), a tax identification number that all Argentine companies must have to operate legally in the country.
The CUIT is essential to comply with tax obligations, such as the payment of taxes and the billing of services or products, which is a fundamental requirement for any type of company in Argentina.
Among the registered Argentine companies, Ripio and Belo stand out, as well as other exchanges such as CryptoMKT. These entities have consolidated their presence in the local marketoffering services for the purchase, sale and custody of cryptocurrencies, as well as the tokenization of assets and other financial services.
For their part, the remaining 20% of registered companies operate with a foreign identification (Foreign ID). This means that these companies have their legal base in another country, but they have met the necessary requirements to operate in Argentinaregistering with the CNV.
Having a Foreign ID implies that these companies may be subject to regulations from both their country of origin and Argentina, which can complicate their regulatory and tax framework.
The most recent cryptocurrency company to be added to the registry is Mexican company Atómico 3. Other key examples of foreign entities operating in Argentina include Binance and DólarApp México, both registered with the CNV Argentina. These foreign companies seek to take advantage of the Argentine cryptocurrency market, which has shown significant growth in recent years.
The Argentine scenario differs from El Salvador, the first country in the world to legally adopt bitcoin, where a good part of the cryptocurrency companies registered before the National Commission for Digital Assets (CNAD) are foreign or nationalizedwith few local projects being registered with the authorities. Furthermore, many of these companies are not operational, as CriptoNoticias recently reported.
The registration of PSAV by the CNV was an obligation imposed by the Argentine government in response to the demands of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This measure has been harshly criticized by the cryptocurrency community in the country, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
Many argue that Excessive regulation could slow innovation and push operations towards unregulated platforms, which contradicts the objective of transparency and financial security sought with these regulations.
In general, the fact that the majority of cryptocurrency companies in Argentina are national reflects a growing local ecosystem of entrepreneurship and development in the sector. However, the presence of international companies and the regulations imposed mark a market in constant evolution and debate on how to balance innovation with regulation.