As of March 2026, Argentine law still mandates that employee salaries must be deposited into traditional bank accounts and cannot be directly transferred to digital wallets or cryptocurrency addresses. This regulation stems from Article 35 of the now-repealed Bill No. 27802, which was removed in February 2026. The provision was initially intended to allow employers to pay part of salaries in crypto assets, modernizing the compensation system, but was ultimately removed due to strong opposition from the banking sector.
The banking industry argues that current digital wallet and crypto service providers lack the same prudent regulatory framework as licensed banks, which jeopardizes the safety and traceability of salary funds. Allowing salaries to flow directly into unregulated platforms could expose workers to financial risks such as fund freezes and platform failures. This stance reflects a core contradiction in Argentina's financial system: while crypto wallets and fintech applications have rapidly gained popularity among the public, the legal framework still strictly distinguishes between “deposit institutions” and “technology service providers.”
It is important to clarify that cryptocurrencies are fully legal in Argentina. Individuals can freely buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin and other digital assets, and can use them for private transactions or non-salary-related contract settlements. The issue is limited to the “salary payment” aspect, which is strictly regulated by labor laws. Currently, all remuneration in employment relationships must still be processed through commercial bank accounts supervised by the central bank and financial regulatory authorities.
Despite legislative hurdles, market trends have not stalled. Trust in the traditional banking system has long been low among the Argentine public, and ongoing inflationary pressures continue to drive individuals to seek alternative value storage tools. An increasing number of companies have implemented workaround solutions for “salary-to-crypto” conversions—such as first paying salaries in pesos and then allowing employees to independently exchange them for Bitcoin. Although this gray area is not legal, it is widely practiced.
Is it possible to achieve the legalization of crypto salaries in the future? The key lies not in technology, but in regulation. If digital wallet service providers can establish capital reserves, anti-money laundering mechanisms, and customer fund segregation systems comparable to banks, regulatory authorities may reassess their qualifications. At that point, legislative amendments could follow naturally. Currently, the compromise of Bill No. 27802 seems more like a temporary pause rather than a complete rejection of crypto payments.