Residents of Mendoza Province can now pay government fees and taxes with cryptocurrency. This is another step toward wider acceptance of cryptocurrency in Argentina.
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In a statement released on August 27, the Mendoza Tax Administration (ATM) praised the new crypto payment option as meeting the “strategic purpose of modernization and innovation” and giving “taxpayers other ways to meet their tax duties.”
The service began accepting tax payments in stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT), on August 24, but only for the time being.
Using crypto wallets such as Binance, Bybit, and Ripio, citizens can pay through the portal on the ATM’s website.
Once a user chooses to pay with cryptocurrencies, the system sends a QR code with the same amount of stablecoins converted to pesos by an unnamed online payment company.
The taxpayer is provided a receipt when the ATM receives the payment.
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An another step towards crypto acceptance
The ATM’s announcement is the latest in a long line of crypto-related adoptions in Argentina.
Mastercard stated earlier this month that it would introduce a card in Argentina that supports 14 cryptocurrencies, including USDT, prior to a larger rollout supporting 90 million online and physical retailers.
In April, Buenos Aires, the country’s capital, said it would start accepting crypto for public transactions.
A volatile economy has led to a lot of people using cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins, whose value went up when Argentina’s economics minister quit in July.
Tether emphasised in remarks made to last month that the country had “struggled with significant levels of inflation throughout its history.” Due to the volatility of the Argentine peso, there is a significant demand for U.S. dollars.
Tether has given a useful tool for Argentine users battling economic challenges.
Since 2016, the nation has been engaged in a one-sided war against inflation as mistrust in the central bank and government expenditures have reached all-time highs.
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Combined with the Argentine peso’s devaluation, this perfect storm of circumstances has prompted many to hedge against inflation using Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.
“USDT grants Argentinians access to a genuinely global market and frees them from local illegal markets with severely constricted liquidity and consequent prices. Additionally, it enables individuals to keep Tether in a manner that cannot be seized by the government, unlike local bank accounts, “added Tether.”
Even though the market is in the middle of a crypto winter and the central bank stopped people from selling coins in May, people still use stablecoins to store the value of their dollars (USD).
