Argentina wants to tap cryptocurrency, blockchain with Huobi

A senior minister of Argentina said the government was looking at joining hands with Huobi Group, one of the largest digital assets trading platforms in the world, to explore cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.

"We would like to learn how to participate in cryptocurrency and blockchain industry from Huobi. With Huobi's platform, agricultural, mineral and energy resources development in Argentina could be well financed by global investors," said Félix Martín Soto, deputy minister of finance of Argentina and in charge of international financial relations, on Wednesday.

According to him, Argentina should consider the blockchain technology to promote financial inclusion, reduce government's operational costs and also mitigate risks due to unstable Argentine Peso exchange rate with US dollar, which would consequently increase people's trust in Argentina's economy.

"At present, half of our population doesn't have bank accounts, and uses mainly cash transactions, and convert their savings into dollars" said Félix Martín Soto, "Through promoting cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, with Huobi's assistance, our demand for US dollar may become less, which eventually will help stabilize local market and attract global investment."

Huobi, which was founded by Leon Li in 2013, has gained popularity around the world. The official website offers services in 10 languages and, as Leon Li once said in a statement, it is one of the pioneers in global expansion of the blockchain industry. For example, Huobi Global, serves millions of users every day.

Until now, Huobi has expanded into Japan, Korea, Russia and other countries.

Of these, HBUS, Huobi's exclusive strategic partner in the US has obtained licenses and supports US dollar to crypto trading. In Japan, Huobi supports Japan's currency yen to crypto trading with licenses.

In recent years, Huobi has also endeavored to build an ecosystem which covers different aspects of blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.

"Huobi is a reputable, professional and international company. Argentina is willing to pilot Latin America in developing cryptocurrency and blockchain in this collaboration with Huobi," said Félix Martín Soto.

Zhang Hanzhi contributed to this story.