There's No Crypto Winter in Argentina, Where Startups Ramp Up to Meet Demand

While bitcoin advocates point to politically fraught Venezuela as a prime example of crypto adoption, they often overlook the more business-friendly hub a bit farther south.

Since Argentina has a sordid history of banks restricting customer access, plus an inflation rate that hit 47 percent in 2018, bitcoin isn't a hard sell these days.

To the contrary, bitcoin exchange CMO Manuel Beaudroit of Bitex told CoinDesk his company has seen increasing demand in 2019 for bitcoin-related services from Argentinian banks and brokerage firms.

Brazil is so large that its startups often focus purely on the domestic market, Siri said, while Mexico generally loses top-tier talent to northern migration.

Latinos around the world are turning to Argentina as a hub where bitcoin-savvy startups can bring user-led insights to the global ecosystem.

Beyond local demand, another reason Argentinian startups are thriving in this bear market is they've mastered the art of leveraging global networks.

Such was the case with RSK Labs and RIF Labs, two blockchain startups that recently merged to form IOV Labs, which raised 22,000 bitcoins in 2018.

IOV Labs CEO Diego Gutiérrez told CoinDesk most of the company's funding and half of their contributors now come from abroad. Likewise, the Buenos Aires-based CEO of the arbitration startup Kleros, Federico Ast, told CoinDesk in previous years it was difficult for crypto entrepreneurs to fundraise from Silicon Valley if the project hailed from a country like Argentina, with a history of banks defaulting on debts.

Through partnerships with companies like the crypto exchange startup Ripio, among several others, Alvarez has developed fiat on-ramps for unbanked stablecoin users with almost any Latin American currency.

Since more firms feel comfortable investing bitcoin in startups with small but growing user bases in inflation-riddled Latin America, the history of banking hardships has actually turned into an opportunity.