Within the framework of the completion of the public consultation launched by the National Securities Commission (CNV) on the standard that seeks to enable new providers of purchasing and selling services cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets to play in the local market, a company anticipates the entry of banks into the arena and launches the first cryptoasset custody bunker in Argentina.
It is about Prosegur CryptoProsegur Cash’s institutional digital asset custody service. This Tuesday the company announced the opening of the first cryptocurrency cold custody bunker in the country and the second in Latin America, which marks a milestone in the development of security solutions for crypto assets in the region and anticipates the “inevitable” landing of the private banking in the crypto industry.
The public consultation ended and crypto regulation arrives
With the process concluded, the CNV is expected to publish the rule that will regulate, for the first time in Argentina, exchanges, virtual wallets and individuals that provide cryptoassets. However, the proposal contemplates an extensive adaptation period, which varies between the 120 and 270 daysdepending on the type of provider. Thus, official sources told Scope what do they expect It will only be fully operational by the last part of 2025.
Nevertheless, Prosegur It already has conversations with financial institutions so that when this happens it will be at the right time and place. Well, it is a fact that still has no date, they pointed out. “To the extent that the operation with cryptoassets grows in Argentina in the institutional and corporate spheredriven by the implementation of new regulatory frameworks, the ‘crypto bunker’ is presented as a perfect combination of physical security and digital protection for financial entities that wish to provide digital asset custody services to their clients,” he concluded. Hernan BallDirector of Innovation at Prosegur Cash.
According to data collected by the company, in 2023, the loss of some US$2 billion at the institutional level, attributed to custody problems, exposes an alarming reality in the management of digital assets. These losses derived from both failures in technological solutions and attacks on self-custody schemes. This panorama highlights the almost critical need to implement robust risk management strategies linked to the custody of digital assets.
Prosegur Crypto built a digital asset cold custody vault in Buenos Aires similar to those that it already launched in Madrid, Spain, in 2021, and in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2023. In this way, it becomes the first global security company that enters the cryptoasset market and offers a model and comprehensive service. It should be noted that the firm has already obtained authorization from the CNV to operate in the Argentine market, from this new vertical.
Infrastructure and security in Blockchain, a waiting for the banks
As part of this launch, it inaugurated a Blockchain node within its custody bunker. This node allows you to replicate all the information hosted on the networks of that technology that operate, which guarantees that the data are unalterable and highly secure.
From the security giant, they indicate that this innovative system includes multiple layers of security, both logical and physicalwhich work together to protect the digital assets of their clients, which would be, initially, the banks that seek to allow in their “homebanking” cryptoasset operations. This, added to highly restricted access and very strict security protocols, raises the level of protection offered.
This happens in a context in which Argentina became the main crypto market in Latin America and surpassed Brazil in estimated inflows of crypto assets between July 2023 and June 2024. According to a report by Chainalysis, Published on October 9, users of digital assets in the national territory deposited a total of US$91 billion during that period of time, above Brazil’s US$90 billion.
Of course, the rapid adoption of cryptocurrencies in Argentina is related to the constant fight against inflation and the devaluation of the national currency. This phenomenon also attracts the “big players” of the industry who make commercial decisions in the face of this promising panorama for the industry in the country and of which the banks want to be part, since – as it turned out – the financial entities have already presented to the Central Bank (BCRA) the request to market cryptos through their digital platforms.
In that document, Chainalysis highlighted that the Argentine stablecoin market is one of the largest in the world in terms of transaction share. Between July 2023 and June 2024, 61.8% of crypto transactions nationwide involved stablecoins, compared to 59.8% in Brazil. This percentage is well above the global average of 44.7%, although somewhat below Colombia’s 66%.
Paving the way for CBDCs and government services
The vault for cryptoassets, also called a bunker due to its high level of security, is based on patented cold storage technologies. A solution that guarantees levels of security, reliability and availability of high-value digital assets. They are stored entirely in cold wallets that maintain the private keys of clients “offline” and without an Internet connection. While the bunker has more than one hundred protection measures distributed in six layers of security to ensure the chain of custody of digital assets.
Thus, clients’ assets are not used or moved for any purpose other than safekeeping. In addition, it has technological mechanisms to make crypto assets available to clients almost immediately in an automatic and secure manner.
In this way, the security company is prepared to offer solutions related to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)electronic payments and issuance and acquisition services. In addition, as they commented, they have a special service to manage digital assets seized by security forces in cases of crimes related to cryptocurrencies.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
