Latin America · GDP rank #23

Argentina

AR · ARS @ 0.0007140/USD

Two years into Milei-era reform, inflation has fallen from 211% (Dec 2023) to roughly 32% YoY (Apr 2026), the parallel-FX premium has collapsed, and the payments landscape is a three-way contest between Mercado Pago's incumbency, MODO's bank consortium, and a USD-stablecoin retail economy that has reached the second-largest per-capita base globally.

Tab 07

Fintech & disruption

Argentine fintech is the most concentrated in the region around a single operator (Mercado Libre/Mercado Pago), with a deep neobank/wallet challenger tier (Ualá, Naranja X, Brubank) and a precocious crypto-and-stablecoin layer (Bitso, Lemon, Ripio, Buenbit) that is now PSAV-regulated. VC funding has stabilised post-Milei FX liberalisation.

Fintech funding · LTM

US$580M

USD · May 2025–Apr 2026

Largest unicorn

US$125B

Mercado Libre (Mercado Pago)

Unicorns

Mercado Libre (Mercado Pago)

US$125B

e-commerce + fintech

Buenos Aires (corporate); Montevideo (HQ) · founded 1999

Mercado Libre

Ualá

US$2.45B

neobank

Buenos Aires · founded 2017

Ualá

Bitso

US$2.2B

crypto / cross-border

Buenos Aires / Mexico City · founded 2014

Bitso

Funding

Largest disclosed rounds · LTM

Rounds shown are the largest disclosed in the last twelve months. Private markets remain opaque — valuations at follow-on are the most reliable signal of investor conviction.

Round size

LemonUS$60M
Series B extension · 2026-04-08

Emerging categories

Regulated USD stablecoin retail

growing5.0M

adults · 2025

Bitso
Lemon
Ripio
Buenbit
Binance Argentina

PSAV registry under CNV Resolución 994/2024; full operating authorisation in place since 2025.

Source · Chainalysis

Cross-border SME payments via stablecoin

emerging

Bitso Business
Ripple/Bitso corridor
Lemon Cash

Operates under PSAV + BCRA balance-of-payments reporting; subject to remaining capital-control reporting requirements.

Embedded finance

▌Mercado Crédito (embedded SME and consumer lending across Mercado Libre)
▌Naranja X yield account (high-yield retail product via Galicia)
▌Tienda Nube Pagos (embedded e-commerce checkout)