Argentina’s Lemon exchange launches Visa credit card backed by BTC collateral

Lemon, a crypto exchange with over 5.5 million users in Argentina, announced the launch of Argentina’s first “Bitcoin-backed VISA credit card.” The new product will allow users to lock up BTC as collateral to access peso credit lines without selling their coins.

Reports say that the card works on a rudimentary basis with set boundaries in its early stages. The user has to put down 0.01 Bitcoin as collateral, which is about $900 right now. In return, they get a credit card in pesos with a limit of $1,000,000.

In this way, Bitcoin is held as collateral but is neither sold nor converted to local currency. The product also allows users to access peso credit without a bank account or credit history, aiming to turn long-term Bitcoin savings into an everyday financial tool.

“The idea is that the user can keep their bitcoin as long-term savings and, at the same time, access credit in pesos to cover their daily expenses,” the company stated.

Lemon Visa credit card offers commission-free purchases of digital dollars

The launch includes a series of exclusive benefits for those who apply for the Lemon Visa credit card, including commission-free purchases of digital dollars, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more than 30 cryptocurrencies. However, it is only applicable to purchases, and not to exchanges or sales.

Users will also get early access to new products and app features, as well as individual support through Telegram, a newsletter with market news, and a portfolio overview with P&L.

For the first three months after launch, Rootstock, the protocol that enables users to build applications on the Bitcoin network, will waive the card’s maintenance fee. After that period, the maintenance fee will be approximately $7,500 per month and will be waived for users who purchase more than $150 worth of crypto per month.

Meanwhile, users can buy Bitcoin starting at $100 by depositing pesos via CBU or CVU and accessing the “Exchange” section in the app. It’s also possible to deposit BTC from other wallets through the Lightning Network, Bitcoin’s native network, Rootstock, and BNB Chain (BEP-20). 

Existing Lemon users can spend pesos on everyday purchases using QR codes or the Lemon Visa card and receive Bitcoin for each transaction.

The company announced that it will later adjust its own backup amounts and credit limits. They stated that they are working on a solution that will allow purchases in dollars to be paid for directly in digital dollars, using stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.

Lemon declares Bitcoin as the most held asset for savings

Argentines have a long-running distrust of banks, rooted in repeated devaluations and the “corralito” deposit freeze in December 2001, which wiped out savings. This pushed many households to keep wealth in dollars rather than in peso accounts.

According to reports, citing official data used in Argentina’s International Monetary Fund program, Argentines hold about $271 billion in undeclared dollars stashed “in mattresses and overseas bank accounts,” far outside the formal financial system.

Previously, President Javier Milei’s “Fiscal Innocence” tax amnesty initiative pushed close to 300,000 savers to declare more than $20 billion. However, some citizens managed to keep hiding their savings elsewhere. To that end,  Lemon is trying to turn a favored savings asset into day-to-day spending power, without forcing savers to unwind their BTC.

The company highlighted that, in Argentina, Bitcoin is the most ” held ” asset, used as savings by Lemon users, surpassing both the dollar and the peso. Marcelo Cavazzoli, founder and CEO of Lemon, stated, “Bitcoin is the best store of value ever created and the cornerstone of the new digital economy.”

Besides Argentina, several platforms in the US, Europe, and Brazil allow users to borrow against Bitcoin or stablecoin positions. However, Lemon’s offer is unique because it clearly positions itself as a Bitcoin-guaranteed, peso-denominated revolving credit product that is released into a highly dollarized but still fragile banking environment.

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