TLDR
- Lemon’s Visa card offers 1M peso credit backed by 0.01 BTC collateral.
- BTC is held as collateral, not sold or converted to fiat.
- Crypto activity in Latin America reached $1.5T from 2022 to 2025.
- Around $271B in undeclared dollars are held outside Argentina’s banks.
Lemon, a major crypto exchange in Argentina, has introduced the country’s first Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card. This new product lets users access Argentine peso credit lines without needing to sell their Bitcoin. Customers are required to lock up a minimum of 0.01 BTC—currently valued at around $960—as collateral. This provides an initial credit limit of 1 million Argentine pesos.
La Nación reported that Lemon, Argentina’s second-largest crypto exchange, has launched the country’s first Visa credit card backed by Bitcoin collateral. The product allows users to access peso credit without a bank account or credit history and without selling BTC, aiming to…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 15, 2026
The credit card arrives at a time when many Argentines remain hesitant to keep money in banks due to past financial crises. It provides a method for people to spend using their crypto savings while keeping their Bitcoin holdings intact.
Crypto-backed credit lines launched amid bank distrust
Lemon’s new product responds to Argentina’s long-standing distrust of traditional banking. Historical events, such as the 2001 “corralito” freeze that restricted access to bank deposits, pushed many Argentines to move their savings into U.S. dollars or assets held outside the formal financial system. According to a Reuters report, Argentines are estimated to hold about $271 billion in undeclared cash dollars, kept in places like homes and foreign accounts.
Lemon’s Visa card allows users to maintain their crypto investments while gaining access to spending power in pesos. The BTC used is held as collateral and is not sold, ensuring that users retain their exposure to Bitcoin while still being able to make purchases. The company also plans to let users settle international purchases in dollar-based stablecoins like USDC or USDT.
Crypto adoption grows across Latin America
Lemon’s move comes as Latin America sees expanding use of crypto in daily financial activity. According to data from Dune and other analytics firms, crypto exchange flows in the region grew about nine times over the past three years. In 2024 alone, exchanges processed roughly $27 billion in transactions. From 2022 to 2025, regional crypto activity is estimated to have reached $1.5 trillion.
Companies like Bitso, Mercado Bitcoin, and Lemon are now responsible for handling a growing number of remittances, payment services, and hedging operations. With an established base of users already familiar with crypto, Lemon’s new credit card is positioned to attract demand from individuals looking for alternatives to peso-based banking.
Peso credit backed by crypto enters mainstream market
While crypto-backed credit is already present in global markets, Lemon’s offering marks a first in Argentina. Platforms in countries like Brazil and the U.S. have allowed borrowing against crypto for years. However, Lemon’s card is one of the first to offer peso-denominated credit directly secured by Bitcoin. It introduces this model into a highly dollarized local economy that still faces inflationary pressures, with inflation remaining around 30%.
The card operates as a revolving credit line, which users can access as needed. Lemon aims to expand the service by allowing users to increase their credit limits and adjust collateral amounts in future updates.
By integrating crypto-backed lending into daily spending, Lemon is converting stored digital wealth into practical financial access. The move reflects broader trends in Latin America, where traditional financial systems are increasingly complemented by crypto solutions.
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