How it works in Argentina
Yes, you can pay your team in Argentina in stablecoins with Toku. Salary is set, withheld and paid in money, in pesos or a foreign currency, to the employee's bank account, employees who opt in can then have their net pay, once paid, converted into USDC, and contractors can be settled in USDC or USDT, with Toku confirming how each settlement fits the central bank's foreign-exchange rules.
Paying employees
Since the 2026 labour reform, salary must be paid in money, in pesos or a foreign currency, credited to an account at a bank or official savings institution, so it is paid there first. Employees who opt in can then have their net pay, once paid, converted into USDC in a way Toku confirms for each person. (Sources: Law 27.802, labour modernisation law (March 6, 2026); Employment Contract Law 20.744, updated text, articles 105, 107 and 124 (InfoLEG))
Paying contractors
Contractors can invoice in pesos or US dollars on a type E export invoice and be settled in USDC or USDT. The central bank expects fees for services to non-residents to be brought in through the foreign-exchange market within 20 business days or, for individuals, credited to their own foreign-currency account at a local bank, so Toku confirms how each contractor's settlement fits that rule. (Sources: ARCA: Monotributo, export of services; BCRA: consolidated foreign-exchange rules (Exterior y Cambios), points 2.2.1 and 2.2.2.1)
Salary is set and taxed in local currency. Employees who opt in have their net pay, once paid, converted into USDC, and contractors are settled in USDC or USDT, where the local rules allow it. Toku handles the conversion, the compliance checks and the tax and payment reporting, and confirms the arrangement for each person before the first payment.
How Argentina treats crypto and stablecoins
Argentina's anti-money-laundering law defines virtual assets as digital representations of value usable for payments or investment, and says legal tender and foreign fiat currencies are never virtual assets. The tax authority (ARCA) treats crypto held at year end as an asset subject to the personal assets tax. (Sources: Law 25.246 (anti-money-laundering), updated text, articles 4 bis and 20 (InfoLEG); ARCA: personal assets tax on crypto assets)
Argentina's central bank (BCRA) and securities regulator (CNV) say crypto assets are not legal tender and nobody is obliged to accept them as payment. Argentine anti-money-laundering law defines virtual assets as digital representations of value usable for payments or investment, and says legal tender and foreign fiat currencies are never virtual assets. (Sources: BCRA and CNV: alert on the risks of crypto assets (May 20, 2021); Law 25.246 (anti-money-laundering), updated text, articles 4 bis and 20 (InfoLEG))
Since May 2022, banks and other financial institutions may not carry out or facilitate for their clients crypto asset operations that are not authorised by a competent national regulator or the central bank, and since May 2023 payment service providers that offer payment accounts are under the same ban. The central bank's crypto page still describes both restrictions. (Sources: BCRA Communication A 7506 (May 5, 2022); BCRA Communication A 7759 (May 4, 2023); BCRA: crypto assets)
Law 27.739 of 2024 gave the CNV a registry of virtual asset service providers and full powers to supervise, regulate and sanction them, and requires providers based in Argentina or abroad that act as providers to report so they can be registered. Under CNV General Resolution 1058/2025, anyone not registered must refrain from providing those services in Argentina, although individuals are exempt while their activity stays at or below 35,000 UVA a month. Providers are also reporting entities under the anti-money-laundering law, supervised by the Financial Information Unit (UIF). (Sources: Law 27.739 (2024), original text (InfoLEG); CNV General Resolution 1058/2025; Law 25.246 (anti-money-laundering), updated text, articles 4 bis and 20 (InfoLEG))
Local rules for paying employees in Argentina
Law 27.802, the labour modernisation law published on March 6, 2026, rewrote article 105 of the Employment Contract Law: salary must be paid in money, which may be pesos or a foreign currency. Article 124 now says money wages must be paid only by credit to an account in the worker's name at a bank or official savings institution, or the payment is void. (Sources: Law 27.802, labour modernisation law (March 6, 2026); Employment Contract Law 20.744, updated text, articles 105, 107 and 124 (InfoLEG))
That replaced the wording of Emergency Decree 70/2023, which had widened article 124 to allow wages paid in cash, by cheque or to other entities the payments authority deemed suitable. (Sources: Emergency Decree 70/2023; Law 27.802, labour modernisation law (March 6, 2026))
An employer may count payments in kind for no more than 20% of total pay under article 107. The labour law does not mention crypto, and the anti-money-laundering law separates virtual assets from legal tender and foreign fiat currency, so the money salary is paid in pesos or a fiat currency and any USDC is the employee's choice for their net pay. (Sources: Employment Contract Law 20.744, updated text, articles 105, 107 and 124 (InfoLEG); Law 25.246 (anti-money-laundering), updated text, articles 4 bis and 20 (InfoLEG))
Local rules for paying contractors in Argentina
Under point 2.2.1 of the central bank's foreign-exchange rules, fees a resident earns for services to non-residents must be brought into Argentina and settled through the foreign-exchange market within 20 business days of being received, abroad or in Argentina. Under point 2.2.2.1, individuals exporting services do not have to convert the fees into pesos if the funds are credited to their own foreign-currency account at a local bank within the same deadlines, provided the arrangement is tax-neutral. The rules do not say how fees received in crypto or stablecoins are treated. (Source: BCRA: consolidated foreign-exchange rules (Exterior y Cambios), points 2.2.1 and 2.2.2.1)
Contractors under the simplified regime (Monotributo) who export services must invoice on a type E invoice, which may be issued in foreign currency or pesos. (Source: ARCA: Monotributo, export of services)
For individuals' other income, the income tax law treats income as received when it is collected in cash or in kind. Crypto platforms that serve Argentina must generally be registered with the CNV, which publishes the registry, while people who only receive crypto as payment for goods or services are not providers. (Sources: Income Tax Law (2019 consolidated text), articles 2 and 24 (InfoLEG); CNV General Resolution 1058/2025)
Ways to pay people in Argentina, compared
How the common ways to pay someone in Argentina compare. The Toku row describes how Toku works; coverage and the arrangement for each person are confirmed before the first payment.
| Method | Employees | Contractors | What to keep on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local payroll and bank transfer in ARS | Salary paid in local currency, with tax and contributions withheld. No stablecoin option. | Paid in ARS or another fiat currency to a bank account. | Payslip or invoice, payment confirmation and any tax withheld. |
| Sending USDC or USDT yourself | Doesn't cover employees on its own: salary still has to be set, withheld and paid under local payroll rules. | You handle the payment, foreign-exchange, tax and reporting rules in Argentina yourself, and some payment rules there may restrict it. | The ARS value on the payment date, the exchange rate used, wallet addresses and transaction hashes. |
| Toku | Salary set, withheld and paid in ARS through Toku's employer of record, with a USDC option for net pay arranged as described on this page. | Invoices in ARS (or USD where local invoicing rules allow it), settled in USDC or USDT where Toku confirms the route for that contractor, with approvals and payment records in one place. | Contracts, invoices, payment records and tax documents kept with each payment. |
Tax and reporting
Gains from selling digital currencies are taxable income under the income tax law. According to the tax authority (ARCA), individuals pay a schedular 5% or 15% on Argentine-source crypto gains, 15% when the sale is in foreign currency, and 15% on foreign-source gains. Individuals are not taxed on unrealised gains from a rise in the price of crypto or stablecoins they hold, though companies are. (Sources: Income Tax Law (2019 consolidated text), articles 2 and 24 (InfoLEG); ARCA: income tax on crypto assets)
ARCA treats crypto held on December 31 as subject to the personal assets tax (Bienes Personales), valued at acquisition cost plus accrued interest, adjustments and exchange differences. (Source: ARCA: personal assets tax on crypto assets)
Platforms that manage virtual accounts, wallets, investment and financing report monthly to ARCA on users whose monthly inflows, outflows or balance reach ARS 50 million for individuals or ARS 30 million for companies, converting crypto amounts to pesos. ARCA says these are reporting thresholds, not limits on transfers, and the reporting duty falls on the companies, not the users. (Sources: ARCA: reporting by virtual wallet and intermediation services (RG 4614/2019, Title II); ARCA: transfers, the thresholds to consider (RG 5.804/2025))
Recent changes
- March 15, 2024: Law 27.739 defined virtual assets and their service providers in the anti-money-laundering law and created the CNV's provider registry. (Source: Law 27.739 (2024), original text (InfoLEG))
- March 14, 2025: CNV General Resolution 1058/2025 set full rules for crypto providers, covering registration, capital, custody, cybersecurity and anti-money-laundering. Most of its requirements applied to already-registered providers from December 31, 2025. (Source: CNV General Resolution 1058/2025)
- March 6, 2026: Law 27.802 took effect: salary may be paid in pesos or a foreign currency, still in money, and only by credit to an account at a bank or official savings institution. (Source: Law 27.802, labour modernisation law (March 6, 2026))
- April 2026: ARCA's expanded monthly reporting by wallet and account platforms started, changing the information they send about users above the ARS 50 million and ARS 30 million thresholds. (Source: ARCA: reporting by virtual wallet and intermediation services (RG 4614/2019, Title II))
What the official sources leave open
The official sources leave these points open. Where one affects a payment, Toku confirms how it is handled for each person before the first payment.
- Whether crypto could be given as a payment in kind within the 20% cap of article 107. No labour ministry, ARCA or court source addresses salary in crypto.
- How service fees received in crypto or stablecoins fit the central bank's rule that fees be brought in and settled within 20 business days. The rule is written for foreign currency.
- How ARCA values crypto received as pay or fees, for example the market price on the day received.
- Whether the central bank will lift its bans on banks and payment accounts facilitating crypto, and Argentina's rules for the OECD crypto reporting framework (CARF).
How Toku pays your team in Argentina
Employees hired through Toku’s employer of record in Argentina have their salary set, withheld and paid in local currency, with the USDC option for net pay arranged as described above through stablecoin payroll. Whether Toku can support a hire in Argentina is confirmed before an offer. Contractors are paid through contractor management, which keeps invoices, approvals and USDC or USDT payment records together. Toku confirms the arrangement for each person before the first payment.
For the practical steps, see how to pay contractors in Argentina. Compare costs on the pricing page and estimate transfer costs with the FX savings calculator.
Toku pioneered this approach: founded in 2020, it started with token payroll and is now an employer of record and global payroll provider in 100+ countries, paying teams in local currency or stablecoins. About Toku.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules on crypto, wages and foreign exchange change often and depend on the facts of each arrangement, so confirm your situation with a qualified local adviser before you pay anyone in crypto or stablecoins.