San Pedro, a small agricultural town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, has seen a significant shift in its residents’ interests as many turn their attention towards cryptocurrency trading. In September, the town hosted a country music festival that drew the community together, but recent events have taken a darker turn.
Residents have found themselves embroiled in a cryptocurrency trading scam, lured in by a platform promising high returns. Reports indicate that more than a third of the town’s population—approximately 20,000 people—invested their savings into this platform, which has since announced a 14-day suspension of fund withdrawals to comply with a government investigation.
According to La Nacion, this cryptocurrency platform guaranteed daily returns ranging from 1% to 2% in U.S. dollars. Such promises prompted many San Pedro residents to invest their life savings, with some even going so far as to sell their cars or take out loans to increase their investments.
Given Argentina’s history of economic instability, many locals have long been accustomed to converting their salaries or pesos into U.S. dollars for savings. The rise of cryptocurrencies has shifted this habit towards digital deposits, creating a new avenue for financial hope amidst economic uncertainty.
San Pedro, known for its citrus fruits, orchards, and vegetable farming, has a population of around 70,000. Yet, instead of focusing on the weather to determine harvests, many residents are now engrossed in mobile messages on Telegram, driven by high-yield trading alerts.
In the platform’s statement on the 9th, they claimed that investigations were sparked by “misleading reports” from local media, prompting intervention from Argentine regulatory authorities. They vowed to devise a withdrawal plan if operations could not continue, while also alleging that media exaggeration was hindering their business efforts.
Despite some residents expressing trust in the cryptocurrency investment platform, the government’s inquiries have revealed that the platform is not officially registered. Investigators have uncovered that the company’s public representatives and traders were merely hired actors. The Supreme Court of Argentina has now classified this case as part of a larger Ponzi scheme investigation, deepening concerns over the safety of such investments.
