Tether, KriptonMarket to support USDT transactions in Argentina’s central market

Argentines can now buy dairy products with the USDT stablecoin at the Central Market of Buenos Aires, one of the largest movers of fruits and vegetables in Latin America. The move was made possible through a partnership between stablecoin issuer Tether and on-/off-ramp platform KriptonMarket.

The partnership will allow companies to accept and pay bills with USDT, as well as pay a percentage of employee salaries with the stablecoin. According to the city of Buenos Aires, the Central Market supplies more than 12 million people a month and is home to more than 500 wholesale companies. It also employs more than 2,000 people.

The partnership will also reduce brokerage fees and give users a payment option that is pegged to the US dollar and is therefore less susceptible to market fluctuations, Tether said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph.

Crypto adoption is booming in Argentina thanks to hyperinflation and the devaluation of the fiat peso. Inflation rose to 108.8% year on year in the Latin American country in April, remaining at its highest level since 1991, following an increase of 104.3% in March. On May 15, the Argentine central bank raised its reference rate to 97%, but tight monetary policy does not seem bold enough to curb the price escalation.

“With the continued devaluation of their country’s currency, Argentines need solutions to pursue their own financial freedom. If we can contribute to the well-being of an entire country through cutting-edge technologies provided by the blockchain, we are one step closer to ending the fight against financial discrimination,” said Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether.

In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Daniel Fogg of IOV Labs, the foundation behind smart contract platform Rootstock, said that emerging markets are leading the way in cryptocurrency adoption as people view cryptocurrencies as a safe haven from macroeconomic shocks. “For me, if you want to look at the future of what I hope crypto will become, today it exists in Turkey, Colombia, Nigeria, Argentina. It doesn’t exist today in the United States or the UK,” he noted.

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