1. A Currency on Life-Support
Argentina’s central bank has burnt through another US $2 bn of reserves in October trying to keep the peso inside its official trading band. With mid-term elections only days away, President Javier Milei has tightened the 30-day “cepo” and now bans citizens from re-selling U.S. dollars for 90 days. The result: the gap between the official rate (≈ 1,050 ARS/USD) and the blue-chip swap (“contado con liqui”) has widened to 7 %. Inflation—though down from 300 % to 30 %—is still Latin America’s highest, and every political headline sends the parallel peso another 2 % lower.

2. Enter the “Rulo” – A Four-Minute, Four-Per-Cent Trade
The new regulation created an instant loophole that brokers call the rulo (literally “loop”):

1. Buy greenbacks at the official window.

2. Convert the dollars 1-for-1 into USDC / USDT on any local exchange.

3. Sell the stablecoins on the parallel market where pesos trade cheaper.

4. Pocket 3–4 % in under four minutes and start again.

Rubén López, a 34-year-old stock-broker in Palermo, says he runs the loop daily. “It beats watching the peso melt,” he shrugs. Exchanges agree: Ripio saw stablecoin-to-peso volume jump 40 % the week the rule took effect; Lemon Cash logged a 50 % spike the same day.

3. From Meme-Coins to Mattress Money
Crypto’s role in Argentina has flipped. In 2021 it was retail punters buying Dogecoin; in 2025 it is middle-class savers, SMEs and even export agents using stablecoins as a checking account. “We process salaries in USDC now,” says Manuel Beaudroit, CEO of Belo. “Users swap back to pesos only to pay the electricity bill.” Nicole Connor, who runs the local Crypto Women Alliance, keeps her entire nest-egg in yield-bearing stablecoins: “I hold zero pesos overnight—why would I?”

4. The Taxman, the Bank, and the Gray Zone
Each leg of the rulo is legal, but profits are taxable up to 15 % and banks flag repetitive large transfers. Yet enforcement is patchy; crypto remains unregulated and dollar-starved Argentines value speed over formalities. “It’s the Wild-West with KYC,” jokes Julián Colombo, Bitso’s country manager. For now the government tolerates the escape valve—partly because it relieves pressure on the central bank’s own reserves.

5. Outlook – Dollarisation Without Legislation
Analysts see stablecoin penetration rising whatever the 26 October vote outcome. Venezuela and Bolivia are watching closely; Brazil’s central bank cites Argentina in its own stablecoin consultation paper. “Stablecoins are the de-facto dollarisation of everyday life,” says Buenos Aires economist Ramiro Castañeira. “No president can uninvent that.”

1. A Currency on Life-Support
Argentina’s central bank has burnt through another US $2 bn of reserves in October trying to keep the peso inside its official trading band. With mid-term elections only days away, President Javier Milei has tightened the 30-day “cepo” and now bans citizens from re-selling U.S. dollars for 90 days. The result: the gap between the official rate (≈ 1,050 ARS/USD) and the blue-chip swap (“contado con liqui”) has widened to 7 %. Inflation—though down from 300 % to 30 %—is still Latin America’s highest, and every political headline sends the parallel peso another 2 % lower.

2. Enter the “Rulo” – A Four-Minute, Four-Per-Cent Trade
The new regulation created an instant loophole that brokers call the rulo (literally “loop”):

1. Buy greenbacks at the official window.

2. Convert the dollars 1-for-1 into USDC / USDT on any local exchange.

3. Sell the stablecoins on the parallel market where pesos trade cheaper.

4. Pocket 3–4 % in under four minutes and start again.

Rubén López, a 34-year-old stock-broker in Palermo, says he runs the loop daily. “It beats watching the peso melt,” he shrugs. Exchanges agree: Ripio saw stablecoin-to-peso volume jump 40 % the week the rule took effect; Lemon Cash logged a 50 % spike the same day.

3. From Meme-Coins to Mattress Money
Crypto’s role in Argentina has flipped. In 2021 it was retail punters buying Dogecoin; in 2025 it is middle-class savers, SMEs and even export agents using stablecoins as a checking account. “We process salaries in USDC now,” says Manuel Beaudroit, CEO of Belo. “Users swap back to pesos only to pay the electricity bill.” Nicole Connor, who runs the local Crypto Women Alliance, keeps her entire nest-egg in yield-bearing stablecoins: “I hold zero pesos overnight—why would I?”

4. The Taxman, the Bank, and the Gray Zone
Each leg of the rulo is legal, but profits are taxable up to 15 % and banks flag repetitive large transfers. Yet enforcement is patchy; crypto remains unregulated and dollar-starved Argentines value speed over formalities. “It’s the Wild-West with KYC,” jokes Julián Colombo, Bitso’s country manager. For now the government tolerates the escape valve—partly because it relieves pressure on the central bank’s own reserves.

5. Outlook – Dollarisation Without Legislation
Analysts see stablecoin penetration rising whatever the 26 October vote outcome. Venezuela and Bolivia are watching closely; Brazil’s central bank cites Argentina in its own stablecoin consultation paper. “Stablecoins are the de-facto dollarisation of everyday life,” says Buenos Aires economist Ramiro Castañeira. “No president can uninvent that.”