Argentina’s IOL Invertironline Plans to Add Crypto Trading

IOL invertironline, an Argentina-based trading platform, plans to offer crypto exposure to its 213,000 users.

Julio Patricio Supervielle, CEO of IOL parent Grupo Supervielle, said in the company’s second-quarter earnings call the trading app is working to allow customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, “concentrating stock and crypto-asset investments in the same platform,” he said.

Earlier this year, the fintech started highlighting bitcoin-related stocks, a proxy for investors who want exposure to the crypto sector without holding the coins themselves. PayPal unleashed a flood of fintechs after its October 2020 announcement that it would offer crypto buying and selling in partnership with custodian Paxos.

The IOL offering will be powered by a third party and extended to customers in Argentina at an unspecified date.

When reached by CoinDesk, IOL invertironline confirmed the details shared on the earnings call.

IOL plans to gradually expand to several Latin American countries – excluding Brazil – offering U.S.-based investment products, Supervielle said. As a first step, the company has requested authorizations to operate as an online broker in Uruguay.

The company, founded in 2000, was acquiredhttps://www.gruposupervielle.com/Spanish/Relacin-con-Inversores/Noticias-Eventos-y-presentaciones/Noticias/Press-Release-Detail/2018/Grupo-Supervielle-SA-adquiri-el-100-del-capital-social-de-InvertirOnline-SA/default.aspx by Grupo Supervielle in 2018 for $38.5 million.

Grupo Supervielle already has a presence in the crypto segment. In July, the group participated in a $16 million Series A funding round of Lemon, an Argentina-based crypto exchange.

Danny Nelson contributed reporting.