This consideration arrives two months after YPF became the country's first fuel chain to accept U.S. dollar payments.
Crypto News
Argentina's state-controlled oil company is exploring cryptocurrency payment options for fuel purchases. Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF) is considering partnerships with digital asset platforms to process transactions at service stations nationwide.
The initiative would rely on third-party processors, including Lemon, Ripio or Binance, to handle conversions, according to sources familiar with the discussions. Local news outlet La Nación reported the development on Tuesday, noting the company is evaluating technical infrastructure requirements.
This consideration arrives two months after YPF became the country's first fuel chain to accept U.S. dollar payments. Economy Minister Luis Caputo introduced the policy to encourage hard currency circulation and stabilize transactions amid ongoing peso volatility.
The proposed system would mirror existing dollar payment mechanics. Customers would scan QR codes and transfer funds to YPF's Banco Santander account, with applications displaying peso equivalents based on Banco Nación buying rates.
Argentina ranked 20th in the 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index compiled by Chainalysis. The country's retail centralized-services rank sits at 18, while institutional centralized-services come in at 19, reflecting growing digital asset usage among both individual users and large entities.
However, the nation faced controversy in February when President Javier Milei shared a post endorsing the Libra meme coin. The LIBRA token surged to a $4 billion market cap before crashing 94% within hours, triggering investor losses totaling hundreds of millions and prompting opposition calls for impeachment proceedings.
A planned $20 billion rescue package for Argentina, involving JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup, was shelved last month, according to The Wall Street Journal. Lenders are now discussing a smaller $5 billion repo-style loan under which Argentina would post assets to secure dollars for a $4 billion January debt payment.
The shift from a sweeping bailout that included a $20 billion U.S. Treasury currency swap represents a significant scaling back of international financial support. Argentina would need to refinance in bond markets to repay the banks under the revised proposal.
YPF has not announced a timeline for implementing cryptocurrency payments or confirmed which digital assets would be accepted at fuel stations.
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