In Argentina, securities regulator announced the approval of an index of bitcoin futures contracts, intended to be launched on the Matba Rofex platform. In May, the country will begin trading bitcoin futures. According to the platform, it would be the first regulated bitcoin futures index in Latin America.
As part of a strategic innovation program, the National Value Commission (CNV)which regulates securities in the country, has authorized the creation of a bitcoin futures index.
This innovation program, which began in the first quarter of 2022, is focused on creating a collaborative space between the public and private sectors. The objective is to enable the development of new creative products on the capital market.
The bitcoin futures contract will be based on the price of BTC offered by various national institutions that offer BTC/ARS trading pairs. All transactions in this Bitcoin futures contract will be based on the national fiat currency. Traders will therefore have to go through a bank transfer to deposit Argentinian pesos.
With regard to the provision and use of payment services in the nation, a platform providing these contracts will have to meet a few conditions. Thus, it must ensure that it has a valid contract with a payment service provider registered with the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic.
The Regulated Futures Index on bitcoin would give accredited investors a safe way to gain exposure to bitcoin in a transparent and regulated environment. At the same time, the CNV also called on the Matba Rofex platform to integrate alerts warning investors of the risks associated with such financial instruments.
Faced with galloping inflation, many Argentines are attracted to bitcoin which allows them to mitigate the effects of this situation. So, with the skyrocketing inflationthe volume of peer-to-peer bitcoin trading in the country has also reached new heights.
In a recent bill proposed by the Ministry of Economy, Argentines were encouraged to declare their cryptocurrency holdings. To do this, they benefited from advantageous tax measures. Over the years, the South American nation has positioned itself in favor of cryptocurrency. Indeed, compared to its neighbors, Argentina has almost doubled its cryptocurrency adoption rate.
The launch of this bitcoin futures contract coincides with Binance’s announcement a week earlier of its expansion into Argentina. Indeed, Changpeng Zhao, the Binance CEOshared the news of the latest approval.
For his part, Brian Armstrong, the Coinbase CEO, prompted the authorities of Argentina and Brazil to adopt bitcoin as a national currency. On Twitter, he floated the idea that both countries should switch to bitcoin. As a result of these remarks, many discussions about the viability of bitcoin in national currency have emerged.
Brian Armstrong issued this advice as the Brazil and Argentina started the preparatory work for a possible common currency.