Headline: Argentine banks push peso stablecoins for corporates as BIND and Petersen advance projects
Argentina’s banking groups are quietly building peso-backed stablecoins aimed squarely at businesses — a move that could digitize corporate treasury operations even as private banks remain barred from offering crypto services directly.
Two separate initiatives, reported by local outlet Iproup, are being developed by banking-backed financial groups through licensed virtual-asset subsidiaries. Unlike retail-focused dollar-backed tokens many Argentines use to hedge peso depreciation, these new projects are explicitly designed for institutional use: programmable payments, collateral management and automated treasury settlement on blockchain rails.
What’s being built
- BIND Group: The $2+ billion asset manager that owns BIND Banco Industrial is developing a peso stablecoin through BEN, its virtual asset service provider. BEN earlier this year partnered with Circle to give institutional clients access to USDC for treasury and payments under Argentina’s regulatory framework.
- Petersen Group: A second stablecoin called DIPE is being advanced by a Petersen subsidiary with technical support from crypto infrastructure firm Lirium. DIPE already has a published whitepaper, indicating progress beyond initial concept.
Target users and use cases
Both initiatives target corporate treasuries — not consumer rails. The tokens are pitched for programmable payment conditions (transactions triggered by on-chain events), collateral-backed lending arrangements, and streamlined treasury settlement. By operating through licensed virtual-asset arms rather than the banks themselves, the projects currently sit outside the Argentine Central Bank’s restriction that has prevented private banks from offering crypto services since May 2022.
Regulatory backdrop and hurdles
Argentine authorities are reportedly assessing whether to relax the central bank’s ban, though no formal policy shift has been announced. Regulatory scrutiny is already in evidence: in March, the country’s national securities regulator challenged the argt peso stablecoin, arguing it constituted a security offered without proper compliance.
Not the first peso token idea
These private-sector efforts follow earlier public-sector experimentation. In December 2022, San Luis province passed legislation to create a state-backed CityCoin (Activo Digital San Luis de Ahorro), intended to be backed by government liquid assets and used for blockchain-based public services and admin efficiencies. The provincial project targeted residents and public-sector use, whereas BIND’s and Petersen’s tokens are private, enterprise-focused initiatives.
Regional and global context
Stablecoin use is gaining traction across Latin America’s banking and fintech ecosystems. Tether reportedly invested $20 million in Argentine digital bank Ualá as part of a $197 million round, following the company’s backing of Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin and Argentine platform Belo — moves that underline growing interest in digital payment infrastructure across the region. In the Philippines, the Bank of the Philippine Islands launched a pilot settling cross-border remittances on stablecoin rails before converting into pesos within the regulated banking system.
Market snapshot
Even as the global stablecoin market recorded a 2.39% contraction in June to roughly $312 billion, on-chain activity remained intense: Visa’s Allium-adjusted dashboard showed stablecoin transaction volume hit a record $1.79 trillion in June, reflecting ongoing high usage across exchange flows, DeFi, lending and on/off-ramps.
Why it matters
If Argentine banking groups can safely roll out peso stablecoins for corporates, the products could modernize treasury operations and enable automated, programmable financial arrangements within regulated channels. Adoption will hinge on how regulators respond — whether existing restrictions stay in place, are clarified, or are eased to let banks play a direct role in digital asset services.
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