Freelancing seems to be experiencing a boom in Argentina, and with it, crypto, as a way of collecting payments outside of the traditional financial system. A report titled “State of Global Hiring 2021,” made by Deel, a global hiring firm, has discovered that Argentinians, and Latam in general, are increasingly focusing on international companies and jobs. The report explains this is likely a result of the decline of local economies and jobs due to the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, companies are hiring more Argentinians than ever before. This has created an increase in the wages of Argentinians in the last six months, who are earning 21% more working in the marketing, products, and sales sector.
Cryptocurrency withdrawals of these salaries have also boomed. Regarding this trend, Deel COO Dan Westgarth stated:
We are seeing an increase in cryptocurrency withdrawals, in countries like Argentina. We currently offer withdrawals in BTC -the most popular in Latin America-, ETH, USDC and SOL through Coinbase.
According to the Deel report, bitcoin is the most commonly used cryptocurrency for global withdrawals, with 63% of transactions using it. Ethereum comes in a distant second place, being present in 23% of the withdrawals made. USDC, Solana, and Dash are also used marginally.
While other countries have different legal situations, in Argentina, receiving cryptocurrencies has become a lifeline for many freelancers, helping them keep their purchasing power in a more effective way. These freelancing platforms, along with crypto, are also said to open new markets for such workers, who can now be hired at a worldwide level with a simplified payments process.
Argentina is currently seeking to regulate and control digital wallets, as its central bank is proposing to strengthen the measures providers like Mercado Pago and Uala will have to take regarding KYC-AML.
