Coinbase will halt peso-based services in Argentina, The Block reported on Jan. 4 local time.
Coinbase notified customers in Argentina that it will end peso-USDC trading on Jan. 31. After that, they will no longer be able to buy or sell USDC in Argentine pesos or withdraw funds to local bank accounts.
The decision comes as uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market grows after a LIBRA memecoin scandal involving Argentine President Javier Milei. Coinbase denied any link to the political environment and described it as a "strategic reassessment," but the market is analysing that the LIBRA episode had an impact. Milei publicly backed the Solana-based LIBRA memecoin project, but the token fell 90 percent after listing, prompting allegations of large-scale fund outflows and wrongdoing.
Argentina's central bank is reviewing a plan to ease existing rules that ban banks from digital asset activities. If regulatory changes materialise, the possibility of Coinbase returning would also be open, The Block reported.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr