Tether, KriptonMarket to support USDT transactions at Argentina’s Central Market

Argentinians can now purchase dairy produce 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 enabled by a partnership between the stablecoin issuer Tether and on-/off-ramp platform KriptonMarket. 

The collaboration will provide companies the ability to accept and pay bills with USDT, as well as pay a percentage of employee salaries with the stablecoin. The Central Market supplies over 12 million people per month and is home to over 500 wholesale companies, according to the city of Buenos Aires. It also employs over 2,000 people.

The partnership will also reduce intermediation costs as well as give users a payment option pegged to the United States dollar and is therefore less susceptible to market fluctuations, said Tether in a statement shared with Cointelegraph. 

Crypto adoption is booming in Argentina thanks to hyperinflation and its fiat peso devaluation. April’s inflation rate rose to 108.8% year-over-year in the Latin American country, remaining at its highest level since 1991 after rising 104.3% in March. On May 15, the Argentine central bank elevated its benchmark interest rate to 97%, but tight monetary policy does not appear to be bold enough to curb price escalation.

“With the continuing devaluation of their nation’s currency, the people of Argentina need solutions to pursue their own financial freedom. If we are able to contribute to the well-being of an entire country through the state-of-the-art technologies provided by the blockchain, we will be 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 from IOV Labs, the foundation behind smart contract platform Rootstock, said that emerging markets are leading the way in crypto adoption, as people look to cryptocurrencies as a safe haven against macroeconomic shocks. “For me, if you want to look at the future of what I hope crypto will become, it exists today in Turkey, Colombia, Nigeria, Argentina. It doesn’t exist today in the United States or the U.K.,” he noted.

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