A group of private banks in Argentina has begun limited testing of JPM Coin to improve interbank settlement between participating institutions. Local reports say the pilot is designed to cut settlement and reconciliation times, putting blockchain-based recordkeeping into a banking workflow that still relies on traditional rails.
Maximiliano Cohn, CIO of CMF, one of the banks involved in the minimum viable product for JPM Coin in Argentina, said the current tests are being carried out without real money. Settlement is still being completed through conventional methods first, while onchain technology is used for record registration. In this first phase, banks are integrating available services to verify whether connected institutions can improve settlement and interbank reconciliation times.
Argentina’s JPM Coin pilot focuses on process testing, not live fund movement
The structure of the trial shows how cautiously Argentine banks are approaching crypto-linked financial infrastructure. The goal is not to replace existing payment mechanisms at once. It is to test whether blockchain records can make internal banking operations faster and cleaner before any broader rollout is considered.
That distinction matters. At this stage, the pilot is framed as an operational experiment inside the banking system rather than a customer-facing crypto product. The emphasis remains on infrastructure efficiency and controlled testing.
TRM Labs says stablecoins make up 95% of sanctioned-entity inflows tied to Latam
On the compliance front, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said crypto regulation is advancing across Latin America even as regional risks remain visible. In a recent report, the firm said stablecoins have become the dominant payment rail in the region and account for 95% of inflows to sanctioned entities globally connected to Latam activity.
TRM Labs also described the threat picture in concrete terms. The firm said documented flows linked to the Sinaloa Cartel used local brokers and P2P exchanges to launder funds, with Chinese organizations acting as intermediaries. According to the report, those channels processed more than $103 billion in 2025. Such cases are likely to keep anti-money-laundering rules at the center of policy discussions in the region.
Milei says dollarization faces resistance from Argentinians themselves
Argentine President Javier Milei also acknowledged a political and social obstacle to one of his best-known campaign promises. Milei had argued for adopting the U.S. dollar, ending the peso, and shutting down the central bank, but he now says the path is harder than expected because public adoption is missing.
In a recent television interview, Milei said Argentinians continue to use the peso instead of embracing the U.S. dollar. His wording was blunt: “People don’t want it.” That leaves dollarization facing a basic constraint inside everyday economic behavior, not only inside formal monetary policy.