How Latin America bred a bank for Bitcoin

Image: Sergii Gnatiuk/Shutterstock

Long before libertarianism became fashionable in Argentina with the election of Javier Milei, a culture seeking alternatives to the country’s government overreach and financial establishment was brewing in places like Xapo.

The company’s Argentinian founders, weathered by their country’s history of inflation and banking crises, saw potential in Bitcoin to protect the savings of ordinary people. Its former CEO, Wences Casares, is credited with introducing the virtual currency to Silicon Valley, and the company eventually sold its storage service to Coinbase, making it the world’s largest custodian of digital assets.

The company has now moved to Gibraltar and transformed into Xapo Bank,...

David Feliba

David Feliba has more than ten years of experience reporting on Latin America, focusing on business and economics in the region. He has written for international outlets such as The Washington Post, Reuters, The Economist, The New York Times, and The Financial Times. He has also covered the Latin American banking and fintech beat for S&P Global Market Intelligence.