Argentina and Paraguay Become the First Countries to Use Bitcoin for Cross-Border Payment

And it keeps getting bigger and better! Time has shown over and again that there is just no end to how cryptocurrency and the technology underpinning it – blockchain – can be applied to our everyday lives. As more and more innovative ideas are being unraveled, we continue to be stunned at how much potentials a single technology holds.

Of course, cryptocurrencies have been used for many transactions but this is the first time that a crypto coin is actually being used as payment for goods across borders.

Efforts have been made over the past years to incorporate this new digital currency into international markets without success. Although, a number of companies have tried in the past – and some still have plans in the pipeline – the trade from Argentina to Paraguay remains the first successful trade paid with a crypto coin, Bitcoin(BTC)trade.

The trade involves the export of fumigation products and pesticides from Argentina to Paraguay. Both parties agreed to trade the goods worth 7, 100 USD in Bitcoin. With the help of the crypto firm Bitex, equivalent value of the amount paid in Bitcoin was converted into Argentine pesos.

Bitex is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the region. The firm helps make international trade a whole lot easier, faster, and cheaper. Bitex caters to customers who look to make payments from as low as $1,500 USD up to $5,000 USD. Besides Argentina, this service is open to customers in Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Paraguay, Australia, Brazil, China, and the United States.

Unlike swift – the conventional means of payment for imports and exports – which charges a substantial percentage as fee, crypto ventures like Bitex charge as low as 1% of each transaction. In addition, Bitex does not impose maximum limits like Swift does. Also, transparency is better ensured through crypto payment as there are fewer intermediaries between the seller and the buyer.

Commenting on how the process works, Marcelo Moscatelli, who leads the affairs of the commercial part of Bitex, explained that the buyer pays in local currency which is then converted into cryptocurrency – in this case, Bitcoin. Upon arrival at the recipient’s wallet address, the Bitcoin will in turn be converted to the local currency in the country. He added that this process does not only provide a faster and easier means of cross-border payment but it also reduces the ridiculous transaction fee to the best possible minimum amount.