Chilean Cryptocurrency Exchange Launches in Argentina

Chilean crypto exchange Buda.com has launched in Argentina, initially supporting four cryptocurrencies. Already operating in three other countries, the exchange says Argentina has the potential to become its most important market in the course of a year.

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Buda.com Expands into Argentina

Chilean cryptocurrency exchange Buda.com started operations in Argentina on May 28 “to promote the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies,” La Tercera reported on Tuesday.

Currently operating in Peru, Colombia, Chile and now Argentina, Buda.com has more than 80,000 clients, according to the news outlet.

The publication quoted Pablo Chávez, General Manager of the exchange, saying that “cryptocurrencies can have a positive effect on the functioning of the Argentine financial industry and, particularly, on giving access and lowering the uncertainty of users and how they interact economically on the Internet.”

Diario Financiero further quoted him elaborating:

It is a relevant market not only for obvious reasons, such as its size, but also because it has a large community around cryptocurrencies… Argentina has the potential to become our most important market in the course of a year.

Chávez clarified that initially “the cryptocurrencies that will be available will be bitcoin, ether and bitcoin cash,” but the exchange will also soon add litecoin, the publication detailed. “Initially we will be offering the market service, providing the platform for users who want to buy or sell cryptocurrencies in Argentine pesos.”

The Argentine Market

Regarding the exchange’s venture into the Argentine market, Chávez believes that Buda.com “should become one of the largest in the Latin American continent,” the publication conveyed, adding that he expects its transaction volumes to reach “close to USD 20 million per month by the end of 2018.”

Chávez detailed, “People are realizing, for example, how easy it is to transfer money online, using…cryptocurrencies,” noting that:

One of the main differences we see with the rest of the region, is that in Argentina there is a community around cryptocurrencies, which have been working for years with a process of education and closeness to banking entities.

This environment will allow the exchange “to penetrate the market more quickly, using our regional structure,” the publication described.

Buda.com Fighting Banks in Chile

Meanwhile, back in its homeland, Buda.com is fighting to get its bank accounts reopened. The exchange filed a lawsuit against 10 banks in April after they closed the current accounts of crypto exchanges.

Chile’s Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC – Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia) subsequently ordered three banks to reopen the accounts of two crypto exchanges during the course of the lawsuit. Banco del Estado de Chile (Bancoestado), Scotiabank, and Itau Corpbanca (Itau) must reopen the accounts of Buda.com and another crypto exchange, Cryptomkt. The banks appealed the court’s decision but were rejected.

Last week, Bancoestado announced that it will reopen the accounts of the two exchanges. However, Scotiabank and Itau have not confirmed the reopening of accounts, indicating that they may appeal the court’s decision further.

What do you think of Buda.com launching an exchange in Argentina? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bancoestado, and Buda.com.

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