Argentina exempts registered VASPs; El Salvador adds bitcoin

President Javier Milei signed Executive Order 475/2026 exempting registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs) from Argentina’s ‘debt and credit’ cheque tax. The order extends tax treatment previously applied to banks to registered crypto platforms.

The order states: ‘adapt the regulations applicable to certain actors in light of technological advances and the resulting new regulatory framework, and, on the other hand, to equalize the conditions of entities that-while carrying out activities of a similar nature-are subject to different tax treatment.’ The exemption applies only to VASPs that register under Argentina’s regulatory framework; registration and other compliance obligations remain in place.

The cheque tax is a levy on debit and credit movements. Since November 2021, when Executive Order 796/2021 exempted banks, flows into and out of crypto platforms were excluded from that exemption; the new order reverses that exclusion for registered VASPs.

Government officials described the policy as intended to encourage exchanges to participate in the local market for financial products and to align tax treatment for similar activities.

In El Salvador, authorities continued daily bitcoin purchases, increasing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to 7,687 BTC. The government values the holding at more than $510 million. Officials reported that more than 1,600 BTC were added between January and April and that purchases have followed a pattern of roughly one bitcoin per day.

Recent accumulation occurred while bitcoin traded near $66,000. The government publishes periodic inventory updates that document the reserve and the timing of purchases.