17% of adults in Argentina have ever bought cryptocurrencies as a form of savings or investment, compared to 12% who had done it a year ago, Therefore, it surpasses other Latin American countries such as Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Colombia or Chile in adoption of this type of asset.
In total, between 15 and 18% of Latin American adults had purchased cryptocurrencies by the end of 2022, a group in which Argentines (17%) stood out compared to smaller percentages of Colombians and Brazilians (14%), Mexicans (9% ), Peruvians (7%) and Chileans (8%).
This is how it emerges from a Americas Market Intelligence study (AMI) based on 2,400 surveys made to smartphone users in these countries in November 2022.
Among the data collected for the work, it was found that more than a quarter of the Latin Americans who they buy cryptocurrencies they do it weekly or monthly, and that 38% of Latin Americans who buy cryptocurrencies do so at least once a month.
Regarding the medium through which they do it79% of investors in Argentina accessed through cryptocurrency exchanges (platforms), while the rest (21%) did so via P2P transactions, that is, they bought them from another person with transfer payments or in cash.
In Argentina there is currently one ten exchanges (platforms) of cryptocurrencies such as Belo, Buenbit, Defiant, Lemon Cash, Let’s Bit, Ripio and Satoshi Tango, among others, through which you can buy Bitcoin or Ether -the two main cryptos on the market-, smaller volume tokens such as Cardano, Solana or Matic, or stable cryptocurrencies (stablecoins) such as USDT, USDC, DAI or others that follow the value of the dollar 1 to 1.
According to the AMI study, 82% of people who bought cryptocurrencies in the region said they bought as investmentalthough they also see cryptocurrencies as a alternative source of inflation protection (23%) and access to the digital currency linked to the dollar (32%).
53% of Argentines who declared having bought cryptocurrencies in the last year acquired stablecoins (stablecoins) and 46% said that what they were looking for was Protect your savings against inflation.
The stablecoins They can be invested in savings products based on decentralized finance (“DeFi”) protocols, which facilitate borrowing and lending through smart contracts on a blockchain, rather than through a financial institution.
It is important to clarify that against bank deposits or in the capital marketstablecoins carry risks such as the absence of deposit guarantee insurance and a lack of regulation in most countries, which is read by many of those interested in entering this world as a fear of being scammed.
As for the uses of crypto23% of buyers said they have purchased a Non-Fungible TOken (NFT), with Peru having the highest percentage of customers who have ever purchased NFTs (39%), and Argentina and Chile with the highest rates. adoption rates (13% and 16%, respectively).
A similar situation is repeated when being consulted by their consumption of metaverse platformsamong which Peru stands out with the highest adoption rate, with 50% of consumers reporting that they use metaverse platforms, and the lowest in Argentina, with 15%.
