Bitcoin Goes Mainstream in Argentina With Lemon’s BTC-Backed Visa Card

The Buenos Aires–based exchange has unveiled what it describes as the country’s first Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card, allowing users to unlock peso-denominated credit without selling their Bitcoin.

The product targets a familiar problem for Argentine savers: how to spend value stored outside the banking system. Instead of converting BTC into pesos, users pledge Bitcoin as collateral and receive a credit line in local currency, turning long-term holdings into short-term spending power.

At launch, the card operates with conservative limits. Users are required to lock up at least 0.01 Bitcoin—currently worth around $900—as collateral. In return, they receive a credit line of up to one million Argentine pesos. The Bitcoin remains untouched unless collateral requirements change, meaning it is neither sold nor converted into fiat.

According to Lemon, the goal is to let customers preserve Bitcoin as a store of value while still covering daily expenses. “The idea is that users can keep their Bitcoin as long-term savings and, at the same time, access credit in pesos,” the company said.

Turning Crypto Savings Into Everyday Credit

Beyond credit access, the Lemon Visa card comes with incentives designed to deepen user engagement. Cardholders can buy “digital dollars,” Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more than 30 other cryptocurrencies without commissions, provided the transactions are purchases rather than trades or sales.

Early users also gain access to new app features, Telegram-based customer support, curated market updates, and portfolio performance tracking. For the first three months, the card’s maintenance fee is waived through a partnership with Rootstock, after which a monthly fee applies unless users meet minimum crypto purchase thresholds.

Lemon is already planning next steps. The company says it intends to adjust collateral requirements and credit limits over time and is developing functionality that would allow dollar-priced purchases to be settled directly with stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.

Built for Argentina’s Financial Reality

The launch taps into Argentina’s unique monetary history. Decades of inflation, repeated devaluations, and the 2001 “corralito” banking freeze have left households deeply wary of traditional finance. As a result, Argentines are estimated to hold hundreds of billions of dollars outside the formal system, often in cash or offshore accounts.

Lemon believes Bitcoin now plays a similar role. The company says BTC has overtaken both the peso and the U.S. dollar as the most commonly used savings asset among its users. Founder and CEO Marcelo Cavazzoli called Bitcoin “the best store of value ever created and the cornerstone of the new digital economy.”

While crypto-backed lending exists in the United States, Europe, and Brazil, Lemon’s approach stands out for its context. It offers a peso-based, revolving credit product secured by Bitcoin in one of the world’s most dollarized—and financially fragile—economies. For Argentine savers reluctant to part with their crypto, the card represents a new way to spend without selling, bridging the gap between long-term protection and daily liquidity.