In recent years, cryptocurrency arbitrage has gained enormous prominence in Argentina. This is especially true among young people, who have found in exchanges, stablecoins, and digital markets a direct gateway to the financial world.
What is arbitrage and how does it work?
The activity consists of buying an asset at a certain price and selling it quickly, taking advantage of price differences between markets, platforms, or counterparties.
- Narrow margins: Margins are typically small—usually around 0.5% to 1.5%.
- High turnover: The key to this model is the speed and frequency of operations.
- Volume vs. Profit: The volume traded does not equal profit. The same capital can rotate several times during a month, generating gross movements that are much higher than the actual final economic result.
The fiscal and regulatory framework in Argentina
A major point of confusion is often the tax treatment of these operations. Under the regulations of ARCA (Agency of Revenue and Customs Control, former AFIP), operations are classified as follows:
- Income Tax on Crypto (Impuesto Cedular): Capital gains obtained by individuals from the purchase and sale of crypto assets are subject to this tax. The tax is calculated on the net taxable income and not on the total money moved.
- Deductible amount: As a reference, for the 2025 tax period, the annual non-taxable income was set at $4,507,505.52. Above this amount, the applicable rate on the resulting taxable base is 15%.
- Nature of the operation: When a person operates on their own account, the activity is not invoiced as a provision of services. The result arises purely from the difference between the acquisition cost and the sale value.
- Bank traceability: Anyone receiving a bank transfer in pesos can see certain details of the sender, but not the prior economic origin of those funds. Consistency and profile controls are part of the compliance systems of banks, financial institutions, and other obligated entities under the UIF (Financial Information Unit).
A historical practice that went digital
Arbitrage was not born with blockchain technology. It is a historical practice in traditional markets, used for buying and selling stocks, bonds, and currencies by taking advantage of temporary price asymmetries between financial centers. Exchanges and blockchain technology have simply democratized this mechanism, making it accessible globally and available 24 hours a day.
About the author and Mi Saldo
“The current challenge is to technically understand these new activities and to always differentiate the volume of money circulating from the real profit obtained by an operator.”
— Catriel Taubenschlag, founder of Mi Saldo.
At Mi Saldo we believe that the healthy growth of the crypto ecosystem requires greater professionalization, knowledge, and regulatory compliance. As a company, we operate under registration PSAV No. 34 with the CNV, we are members of the Argentine Fintech Chamber, and we hold ISO 9001 quality certification, promoting the highest standards of traceability and risk management in the industry.
Catriel Taubenschlag
Founder of Mi Saldo SRL | PSAV No. 34 regulated CNV