Argentina’s crypto exchange Ripio has launched a new stablecoin pegged to the embattled Argentine peso, offering a local digital alternative for transactions and savings in a country grappling with soaring inflation and tight currency controls.
Named wARS, the new digital token aims to maintain a 1:1 parity with the Argentine peso. It is designed to facilitate how Argentinians save money, send and receive remittances, and make everyday payments around the clock, bypassing traditional banking intermediaries.
This initiative comes as Argentina battles an annual inflation rate exceeding 200%. The informal exchange rate, known locally as the “dólar blue,” currently trades at more than 1,400 Argentine pesos for one U.S. dollar.
While U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDT and USDC are widely popular in Argentina, Ripio’s wARS offers a local currency option for digital transactions.
Ripio said wARS is accessible across multiple prominent blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Coinbase’s Base, and World Chain from Sam Altman. This multi-chain availability aims to position wARS as a new standard for regional digital transactions.
Sebastián Serrano, CEO and co-founder of Ripio, stated that the company is “creating a new standard for payments, remittances, and services on blockchain, with currencies that are part of the daily lives of millions of people.”
Ripio, a cryptocurrency exchange focused on Latin America, has been expanding its presence across eight countries since its launch in 2013. The company boasts over 25 million users.
The stablecoin is backed by peso reserves held in audited bank accounts. Initially, users can manage deposits and withdrawals through Ripio’s mobile application, with plans to extend access to external wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
The introduction of wARS could enable Ripio’s users to conduct cross-border payments in local currency, potentially reducing reliance on U.S. dollars or costly intermediaries.
Although stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar are the most common in Argentina, wARS joins a growing list of digital tokens tied directly to the Argentine peso, alongside nuARS from Num Finance and ARST from StableX.