For years, Argentines who wanted US dollars had to navigate a Byzantine system of capital controls, withholding taxes, and monthly purchase limits. The workaround was stablecoins, digital dollars that traded on crypto exchanges at eye-watering premiums over the official exchange rate. That premium has now shrunk to roughly 4%.
How the gap collapsed
The premium on stablecoins in Argentina frequently exceeded 100% during the worst stretches of capital controls in 2023. That meant Argentines were effectively paying two pesos for every one peso’s worth of dollar exposure when they bought USDT or USDC on local exchanges.
The shift began in April 2025, when President Javier Milei’s government dismantled the core pillars of Argentina’s capital control regime. Between April 11 and April 14, 2025, authorities lifted the $200 monthly cap on individual dollar purchases and eliminated a 30% withholding tax that had been slapped on foreign currency transactions.
The reforms came as part of an International Monetary Fund-supported program and introduced a managed floating exchange rate. The initial band was set between ARS 1,000 and ARS 1,400 per US dollar, giving the peso room to move while preventing a complete free-fall.
