13 March 2026
Argentina’s securities regulator issues cease-and-desist order on irregular virtual coin offering
On March 11, 2026, Argentina’s Securities and Exchange Commission (Comisión Nacional de Valores, or CNV) ruled that a virtual coin known as ARGt constitutes a security (valor negociable) under the Argentine Securities Act and that its public offering was irregular, as it had not received prior authorization from the CNV.
In this alert, we discuss the implications of the ruling and provide key takeaways for issuers and advisors operating in Argentina.
Background
The Argentine Securities regulations are primarily governed by Argentina’s Capital Markets Act, which has contained a broad definition of “security” since its enactment in 2012, expressly including the concept of an “investment contract.” However, neither the CNV nor the national courts had previously elaborated in detail on the scope or practical application of this concept.
The CNV’s investigation was reportedly prompted by a post on X (formerly Twitter) by one of the founders of the company associated with the offering. In the post, the virtual coin ARGt was promoted together with an advertised guaranteed return. While the asset was presented as a stablecoin with a 1:1 parity to the ARS, backed by liquid assets, its acquisition automatically linked the holder to a savings-type account that generated returns simply by holding the coin.
The CNV’s ruling
In its resolution, the CNV clarified that stablecoins per se are not to be considered securities. However, it emphasized that the economic reality of the instrument and the manner in which it was offered satisfied all the elements of the “Howey test,” expressly citing the well-known United States Supreme Court precedent as an interpretative reference under local law.
Under this test, an investment contract exists when there is: 1) an investment of money, 2) in a common enterprise, 3) with a reasonable expectation of profits, and 4) profits derived from the efforts of others.
Implications
While the CNV did not elaborate extensively on how each element of the test was met in this specific case, its reasoning reflects an adoption of interpretative concepts commonly used by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the context of virtual asset offerings. The CNV also distinguished the role of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP), noting that these entities may process payments and facilitate the exchange of virtual assets, but may not conduct public offerings of assets that qualify as securities without prior CNV authorization. The resolution further reiterates that VASPs may only operate with virtual assets that have a publicly available and accessible white paper describing their characteristics and associated risks.
Conclusion
Although this interpretation aligns with approaches adopted in several other jurisdictions and reflects long-standing analytical frameworks developed by US regulators and courts, the resolution nonetheless constitutes an important milestone.
In line with the CNV’s current focus on virtual assets and consistent with prior public remarks by the regulator (including references to SEC interpretations regarding virtual assets shared on its X account), this ruling marks the first formal instance in which the CNV has explicitly applied these concepts to virtual assets.
As such, issuers and advisors operating in the Argentine market are encouraged to carefully consider these criteria when structuring and offering such instruments.
DLA Piper will continue to monitor regulatory developments in this area and will keep you informed of any material changes and their legal implications.
For more information, please contact the authors.
