[Exclusive] Coinbase to end 'peso services' a year after entering Argentina… South America push 'slams the brakes' - must come out negative (manipulated news)
공유하기
Summary
- Coinbase has suspended peso (ARS)-based services in Argentina, placing users in near-term operational risk.
- The market says Coinbase’s South America expansion has effectively backtracked due to high inflation and regulatory barriers, and that from a medium-term perspective it has failed to secure profitability.
- Experts say a structure that maintains only crypto-to-crypto trading is less attractive to Argentine users, making this a negative case for its long-term growth engine and emerging-market expansion strategy.
User confusion deepens as local banks block withdrawals… "A strategic review is a euphemism for business failure"
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, is abruptly suspending services based on Argentina’s legal tender, the peso (ARS), roughly a year after entering the Argentine market. The market views the move as a de facto retreat, with Coinbase’s South America expansion strategy failing to overcome the country’s high inflation and regulatory hurdles.
According to major foreign outlets including The Block on the 4th (local time), Coinbase notified customers in Argentina that it will "end all transactions between pesos and USDC starting January 31, 2026." With this measure, deposits and withdrawals via local bank accounts will be fully blocked from the end of this month, leaving users facing near-term operational risk as they must liquidate holdings or move them to other exchanges.
Coinbase said it is a temporary suspension stemming from a "strategic review to offer better products," but the industry response is chilly. From a medium-term perspective, abandoning the fiat payment rail in a core market where it had invested heavily—going so far as to obtain approval as a virtual asset service provider (VASP)—suggests either its partnerships with the local financial sector have broken down or profitability has become unattainable due to the peso’s unstable value.
In addition, despite the market potential Coinbase had estimated—"5 million crypto users per day"—halting key functions just a year after entry is expected to deal a major blow to its long-term growth engine. Argentina is among the countries with exceptionally high crypto demand as a hedge against hyperinflation, but this suspension brands Coinbase as having failed to narrow the gap with entrenched rivals such as Binance, which hold higher local market share.
Experts said, "Coinbase has stated it will maintain crypto-to-crypto trading, but an exchange that cannot enable withdrawals into local currency rapidly loses appeal for Argentine users," adding, "This incident is a painful example showing that global exchanges’ pushes into emerging markets have run into serious limits between local economic conditions and regulatory compliance."
