Lemon, one of Argentina’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has launched what it says is the country’s first Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card, allowing users to access peso-denominated credit without selling their BTC holdings.
According to La Nación, a leading Argentine daily, customers are required to lock up 0.01 Bitcoin—worth about $960 at current prices—as collateral to receive an initial credit limit of 1 million Argentine pesos. The Bitcoin is held as immobilized collateral rather than being sold or converted into fiat currency.
Lemon said it plans to expand the product over time, enabling users to adjust collateral levels and credit limits and eventually settle dollar-denominated purchases directly using dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDC or Tether.
From banking crises to “mattress dollars”
The launch taps into Argentina’s deep-rooted distrust of the banking system, shaped by repeated currency devaluations and the infamous “corralito” deposit freeze in December 2001, which erased savings and pushed many households to store wealth in physical U.S. dollars instead of peso accounts.
A Reuters report, citing official data tied to Argentina’s International Monetary Fund program, estimates that Argentines hold roughly $271 billion in undeclared cash dollars kept “in mattresses and overseas bank accounts,” well outside the formal financial system.
That hoard remains substantial even after President Javier Milei’s “Fiscal Innocence” tax amnesty prompted nearly 300,000 savers to declare more than $20 billion in previously hidden assets.
By allowing users to post Bitcoin as collateral for local credit lines, Lemon aims to convert a preferred savings asset into everyday spending power—without forcing holders to liquidate their BTC or tap into their hard-currency reserves.
Crypto rails deepen across Latin America
The card’s debut also comes as crypto infrastructure becomes more deeply embedded in Latin American finance. Data compiled from Dune and other analytics platforms show that centralized exchange flows in the region have grown roughly ninefold over the past three years.
Regional exchange flows reached about $27 billion in 2024, while cumulative crypto activity across Latin America approached $1.5 trillion between 2022 and 2025. Firms such as Bitso, Mercado Bitcoin, and Lemon are increasingly handling remittances, hedging activity, and day-to-day payments across the region.
That backdrop provides Lemon with a ready-made user base already accustomed to using digital assets for both saving and spending.
Crypto-collateralized credit goes mainstream
Globally, crypto-collateralized lending is no longer a niche product. Platforms across the United States, Europe, and Brazil already allow users to borrow against Bitcoin or stablecoin holdings, and several fintechs offer payment cards linked to crypto-backed credit lines.
What sets Lemon’s product apart is its positioning as a Bitcoin-backed, peso-denominated revolving credit facility launched into a highly dollarized economy with a still-fragile banking system.
Although inflation has eased from triple-digit levels, it remains elevated by international standards at around the low-30% range, and memories of past financial crises continue to shape how Argentines save and manage risk.
