Argentina Latin America

First new car bought with cryptocurrency in Argentina

By Latin America News · August 18, 2021 · 2 min read

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Dietrich Group, owner of Volkwagen and Ford dealerships, announced that a Volkswagen Nivus has become the first car in Argentina to be purchased with Bitcoin.

A VW Nivus Hero Tiptronic is listed at a price of 3.87 million pesos, equivalent to US$38,700 at the official exchange rate. In other words, a full-extras Nivus costs less than one Bitcoin or the equivalent of 94.5 million satoshis (the smallest unit of a bitcoin, each made up of 100 million satoshis). The company did not name the buyer.

The vehicle was reserved with cryptocurrency at an exchange rate of US$40,000 per bitcoin. (Photo internet reproduction)

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The transaction was conducted jointly with cryptocurrency startup Bithan and involves the reservation of a VW Nivus Comfortline. In addition to reserving the car, a subscription to a savings plan using cryptoassets is available, although the installments are not.

The payment process is as follows: the parties involved in the negotiation establish the conditions in Argentine pesos. Once this step is completed, Bithan processes the payment and sends a QR code to the payer who has 15 minutes to make the transaction with Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), Dogecoin (DOGE), DAI (DAI) and “other cryptocurrencies.” Finally, the rest of the process occurs as in any other car purchase in Argentina.

Bithan also offers the possibility of depositing cryptocurrencies in its platform and transferring the proceeds to the payment of a vehicle savings plan. However, this service is still in its pilot phase and can only be accessed by invitation.

The Dietrich Group also announced that accessories, spare parts and maintenance services can also be purchased with cryptocurrencies. The company has two specialized vendors for these types of transactions.

Globally, companies such as Tesla began accepting cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, as a means of payment, as well as BMW and Nissan in certain countries.

In Argentina, Mercado Pago, Mercado Libre’s digital wallet, is analyzing the feasibility of implementing tools for holding and sending cryptocurrencies in its app.

The inclusion is not imminent, but the intention to move in that direction with important precedents in the cases of Paypal and Square would imply a leap for the widespread use of cryptocurrencies in Latin America.

Source: Ambito

Live Market IntelligenceBrazil — Live Market BoardInside: market breadth, the sector heatmap, currencies & rates, the Latin America scoreboard and the full instrument board.

Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence

Brazil — Live Market Board

B3 · São Paulo
Jul 19, 2026 · 06:06

Ibovespa · benchmark

173,714.08
-0.06%

L 173,285day rangeH 174,505

+28.14% over 12 months

Market breadth · 15 names

47% advancing

7 ▲ advancing8 declining ▼

Currencies, rates & key inputs

USD / BRL

5.11

+0.19%

EUR / BRL

5.84

+0.16%

Selic rate

14.25%

·

Brent crude

88.10

+4.59%

Iron ore

161.91

·

Sector heatmap · average move today

Energy

+2.20%

PETR4, PRIO3

Materials

+0.55%

SUZB3

Consumer Disc.

+0.32%

AZZA3

Consumer Staples

+0.19%

ABEV3

Mining

-0.16%

VALE3, CSNA3, GGBR4

Industrials

-0.65%

WEGE3, RENT3

Utilities

-1.04%

ENEV3

Financials

-1.14%

ITUB4, BBDC4, BBAS3, B3SA3

Latin America scoreboard

IndexLastTodayStrength

IbovespaBrazil
173,714.08
-0.06%

S&P/BMV IPCMexico
66,615.43
+0.39%

S&P IPSAChile
10,886.14
-0.56%

S&P MERVALArgentina
3,199,934
+0.46%

MSCI COLCAPColombia
2,298.34
+0.58%

BVL S&P PerúPeru
57,220.16
—

Full instrument board

Instrument	Last	Change	YoY	Prev.	High	Low	Volume
IBOV	173,714.08	-0.06%	+28.14%	173,825.27	174,505	173,285	—
USD/BRL	5.11	+0.19%	-8.19%	5.10	5.13	5.10	—
SELIC	14.25%		—	—	—	—	—
PETR4	40.90	+2.53%	+29.97%	39.89	41.11	40.41	32,096,300
VALE3	72.94	-0.05%	+34.33%	72.98	73.12	72.10	13,456,000
ITUB4	41.96	-1.39%	+20.99%	42.55	42.61	41.87	19,560,900
BBDC4	18.29	-0.65%	+14.10%	18.41	18.48	18.21	55,066,000
BBAS3	20.49	-1.30%	-1.21%	20.76	20.83	20.26	35,688,400
B3SA3	15.20	-1.23%	+10.63%	15.39	15.37	15.17	48,828,300
ABEV3	15.63	+0.19%	+16.12%	15.60	15.75	15.51	16,160,200
WEGE3	43.63	+0.32%	+3.66%	43.49	44.02	43.15	8,200,700
PRIO3	57.85	+1.87%	+33.60%	56.79	58.00	57.07	5,306,100
SUZB3	41.93	+0.55%	-16.97%	41.70	42.62	41.40	8,204,800
RENT3	38.23	-1.62%	+2.33%	38.86	38.80	37.87	5,880,900
AZZA3	18.59	+0.32%	-48.91%	18.53	18.74	18.32	1,449,200
CSNA3	5.05	-0.98%	-36.16%	5.10	5.11	5.00	7,618,200
GGBR4	24.04	+0.54%	+47.03%	23.91	24.24	23.59	5,371,400
ENEV3	25.68	-1.04%	+86.63%	25.95	26.18	25.66	12,337,200

Largest moves today

PETR4
40.90
+2.53%

PRIO3
57.85
+1.87%

RENT3
38.23
-1.62%

ITUB4
41.96
-1.39%

BBAS3
20.49
-1.30%

B3SA3
15.20
-1.23%

ENEV3
25.68
-1.04%

CSNA3
5.05
-0.98%

The session read

The Ibovespa eased 0.06%, with breadth negative — 7 of 15 names higher. Energy led, while Financials lagged.

From The Rio Times

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