Argentina Draft Law Would Let Funds Hold Crypto, Tokenize Securities

Argentina's deregulation minister proposed a sweeping overhaul of the country's capital markets rules, one that would let investment funds hold digital assets, recognize smart contracts as legally binding, and allow tokenization of all negotiable securities.

The draft bill, written by Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger, targets the national securities law that governs how funds invest and how securities are issued, transferred, and settled. The text, shared with Argentine newspaper Clarin, is not yet before Congress and could change before it arrives.

First, the bill would permit investment funds to allocate capital to digital assets when consistent with a fund's stated policy. Early estimates peg potential demand in the billions of dollars, according to the report. "Today, crypto-assets are investment assets; it is a good thing to allow funds to invest in them – subject, of course, to regulations that the CNV must approve," an unnamed source told Clarin, referring to Argentina's Securities and Exchange Commission. The source added that the rule would not mean "just anyone going out to buy Bitcoin, nor is it just any crypto-asset."

Second, the bill approves tokenization of all negotiable securities – issuance, custody, transfer, and sale – using decentralized technologies. That would effectively rewrite how stocks, bonds, and other instruments move through Argentina's market infrastructure, replacing slower settlement with blockchain-based rails.