Argentine Peso Stablecoin Launch Collides With Milei’s LIBRA Token Supreme Court Probe

• Ripio launches wARS, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Argentine peso on Ethereum and other major blockchain networks.
• A political investigation into the LIBRA meme coin promoted by President Milei advances to Argentina’s Supreme Court.

The Argentine cryptocurrency platform Ripio confirmed the introduction of stablecoins backed one-to-one by major Latin American fiat currencies. Its initial offering centers on the Argentine peso. This digital asset, named wARS, maintains a fixed value equivalent to one Argentine peso. The token currently operates on the Ethereum, World Chain, and Base networks.

The company also previewed additional Latin American stablecoins scheduled for future release. A company strategy involves extending the project to incorporate national currencies from other countries within the next few months.

Sebastián Serrano, CEO and co-founder of Ripio, characterized the launch of these local stablecoins as a defining moment for both the company and the wider Latin American digital financial system. He stated they are establishing a new benchmark for payments, remittances, and blockchain services using currencies already integrated into the daily lives of millions of people.

According to the firm’s statement, the principal applications for these stablecoins will encompass digital payments, including QR code transactions in physical stores. Other uses include cross-border payments for companies, individuals, or financial institutions located in different nations, plus yield generation opportunities within the cryptocurrency system.

Ripio highlighted data from the World Economic Forum indicating the stablecoin market processed more than $27 trillion during 2024. This figure exceeds the combined annual volume of Visa and Mastercard. Within Latin America, the company reports Argentina and Brazil lead in stablecoin adoption, with usage rates of 61.8% and 59.8% respectively. These numbers sit considerably higher than the global average, which is 44.7%.

Expansion into Tokenized Assets Complements Stablecoin Deployment

This strategic move aims to achieve full integration within the real-world assets (RWA) sector. Tokenization of traditional assets like bonds, stocks, or fiat currencies is altering global finance by moving these instruments onto digital platforms, thereby improving access. Aligned with this approach, and beyond the wARS stablecoin, Ripio recently introduced wAL30rd. This product is a tokenized version of the Argentine sovereign bond AL30, with a one-to-one parity. As a crypto asset, it enables 24/7 trading, a capability the traditional bond lacks.

The initial “w” in both wARS and wAL30rd stands for “wrapped,” a term Ripio adopted from the Ethereum environment. This designation will now serve as the standard for categorizing the company’s portfolio of tokenized assets. The function allows conventional financial instruments to gain the flexibility and constant market access inherent to digital assets.

LIBRA Token Case Involving President Milei Advances to Supreme Court

Eight months after the launch of the libra (LIBRA) token, which was briefly promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei on the social network X, the Deputy Investigative Commission on the case has announced its next procedural step. This action follows fraud allegations leveled against the president.

In a statement released yesterday, the Commission, chaired by Deputy Maximiliano Ferraro of the Coalición Cívica, indicated it reconvened on October 21 with 16 of its 28 members present. The body approved a measure to appeal to the Supreme Court, the nation’s highest judicial authority, in the event of another unfavorable ruling.

Deputy Ferraro explained that the decision followed an appeal against the ruling of federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi. The judge had previously rejected a request to compel officials to testify regarding the LIBRA token.

Consequently, during the Commission’s meeting, members approved new evidentiary measures for the investigation and reissued summons to officials of the Executive Branch. Furthermore, the Commission decided to file an extraordinary appeal to seek the Supreme Court’s intervention should the federal judge’s sentence not be revoked.

The official communication clarifies that the objective is for the highest court to guarantee judicial collaboration with the Investigative Commission. It emphasizes that authorization was granted to request the support of public security forces to ensure the appearance before the Commission of those individuals who failed to attend their declarations.