Inside Argentina’s $300 Billion Parallel Economy

Argentina's decades-long economic crises and hyperinflation has a major impact on how Argentine's participate in the economy.

The recent story that's been told about Argentina is that people are adopting stablecoins to protect against inflation and currency devaluation. But that's only part of the story...

The real story involves long-standing distrust of government and the banks, and overbearing taxes that drive Argentinians to the informal economy.

While stablecoin volumes in Argentina surpass $90 billion, Argentina still has over $200 billion in cash circulating in the country, and hidden under mattresses. It's the second-largest holder of US Dollar cash, behind the US itself.

In this episode of Money Trails, presented by  @StellarDevelopmentFoundation , we explore why Argentines keep their money outside of the formal system, and why they are increasingly adopting stablecoins. 

In this episode, we’re joined by Manuel Beaudroit, the Co-founder & CEO of Belo.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.

00:00 - Argentina's economic crisis
01:45 - Arbolitos on Calle Florida
02:48 - The Blue Dollar
04:01 - Distrust and taxes
07:20 - Why Argentines keep their money outside the formal economy
09:50 - Why Argentina's parallel economy still thrives
10:43 - Cuevas, Argentina's informal exchange houses
13:21 - Why Argentines are adopting stablecoins
15:43 - Subscribe!

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