Lemon Debuts Bitcoin-backed Credit Cards In Argentina

• Argentinian company Lemon has just launched a new line of Bitcoin-backed crypto cards.
• Users can now get peso credit by locking up 0.01 Bitcoin as collateral.
• This new Visa credit card prevents the need to sell BTC during high inflation.

Argentina is currently one of the world leaders in crypto adoption. This is the case because for years, citizens have dealt with high inflation and a history of banking crises. 

Many people prefer to store their wealth in assets like Bitcoin rather than the local peso. 

Now, however, a major local exchange is changing how these savers use their money. Lemon recently launched a Bitcoin-backed credit card that allows users to spend without selling their coins. 

How the Bitcoin-Backed Credit Card Changes Argentine Spending

The new product from Lemon works differently from a standard debit card. Most crypto cards sell your coins the moment you buy something. But this can be a problem if you believe the price of Bitcoin will go up. 

Now with the Bitcoin-backed credit card, your assets stay in your account, and you simply lock them away as a guarantee. Lemon uses this collateral to give you a credit line in Argentine pesos. 

This means you can pay for groceries or fuel while still owning your Bitcoin.

To start, users must lock up 0.01 BTC in their Lemon wallet. At current prices, this is worth about $960. In exchange, the user receives a credit limit of 1 million pesos. Bitcoin is not converted or sold. Instead, it becomes a guarantee that cannot be moved. 

This setup is perfect for “HODLers” who want to keep their long-term investments. This way, they get the liquidity they need for daily life without losing their position in the market.

Financial Freedom in a Cash Hoarding Economy

Argentina has a complicated relationship with traditional banks, as many citizens still have painful memories of the 2001 “corralito” deposit freeze. 

This event wiped out savings and led to a deep distrust of financial institutions. As a result, many people keep their wealth in cash dollars hidden in their homes. Some estimates even show that Argentines hold $271 billion in undeclared cash. 

However, the Bitcoin-backed credit card offers an alternative to this “mattress money” culture.

President Javier Milei has introduced initiatives like the “Fiscal Innocence” tax amnesty to bring money back into the system. While billions have been declared, many still prefer digital rails. 

Within this new system, using Bitcoin as collateral, savers can safely interact with the formal economy. They no longer have to worry about the peso losing value while they hold it. 

They can simply borrow what they need and pay it back using their income. This keeps their wealth protected.

Technical Details of the Lemon Visa Project

The rollout of this card is part of a larger plan for modern finance in Latin America. 

Currently, the system uses a fixed amount of collateral for a fixed credit limit. However, Lemon plans to let users customise these levels in the future. Soon, customers might be able to adjust how much Bitcoin they lock up to increase their spending power. 

The exchange is also working on a way to settle dollar-denominated purchases using stablecoins. This would include popular tokens like USDC and USDT from Tether.

Security is a major focus for the team at Lemon. They use cold storage for the majority of the collateralised Bitcoin to prevent theft, and the platform also monitors the value of the BTC in real time. 

This means that if the price of Bitcoin drops, the system may issue a margin call. This requires the user to add more collateral or pay down their debt.

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