Rodrigo Coelho, Chief Executive Officer at Edge & Node, said that stablecoins have become a financial lifeline in Argentina, where citizens are turning to cryptocurrency to protect their savings from daily currency erosion. This statement was made during a podcast on March 25.
"In Argentina, crypto wasn't speculative—it was survival," said Coelho, according to YouTube. "People kept their money in USDC because their local currency was eroding daily."
According to Reuters, Argentina has been dealing with severe inflation for decades, leading its citizens to seek alternative financial solutions. In 2023, the country experienced an annual inflation rate of 211.4%, the highest globally, which has caused significant economic instability. This persistent inflation has eroded the purchasing power of the Argentine peso, prompting many Argentinians to explore cryptocurrencies as a hedge against devaluation.
A report by Chainalysis in 2024 indicates that Argentina's share of stablecoin transaction volume was 61.8%, surpassing Brazil's 59.8% and significantly exceeding the global average of 44.7%. This data suggests a strong preference among Argentinians for stablecoins due to their relative stability compared to the volatile local currency. The report highlights that in regions with economic instability, stablecoins serve as a crucial financial tool for preserving value.
A survey from Statista revealed that in 2024, approximately 30% of Argentinians owned or used cryptocurrencies, marking a 4% increase from the previous year and a 14% rise since 2019. This growing adoption reflects the population's increasing reliance on digital assets amidst ongoing economic challenges and underscores a broader shift towards alternative financial instruments in response to traditional currency instability.
Coelho is a tech entrepreneur specializing in blockchain infrastructure and decentralized systems. Before his role as CEO of Edge & Node, he held leadership positions in various Web3-focused startups and contributed to open-source projects within the Ethereum ecosystem. His expertise lies in advancing decentralized technologies to address real-world economic challenges, particularly in emerging markets.
Edge & Node, founded in 2020, is a core developer behind The Graph, a decentralized indexing protocol that organizes blockchain data for efficient querying. The company focuses on building open-source tools to enhance transparency and accessibility within the Web3 ecosystem and plays a pivotal role in enabling scalable, permissionless data access across various blockchain networks.