In a supposed first for both countries, Argentina and Paraguay have settled an export deal using Bitcoin (BTC).

Spanish crypto media reported (Feb 14) that Paraguay bought pesticides and fumigation products worth $7,100 from Argentina – and used Bitcoin to pay for them. The Bitcoin payment was then converted into Argentine peso to pay the exporter of the chemicals.

To process the payment, Argentina had turned to Bitex to provide its services. The fintech company has a presence in several Latin American countries, including Argentina. It recently made the news earlier this month for adding Bitcoin as a top-up option to Argentina’s public transport SUBE (Sistema Único de Boleto Electrónico) smart cards.  

According to Bitex CMO Manuel Beaudroit, the company is a part of the Argentine Exporta Simple facilitating goods and services export below $15,000. Bitex aims to make such international transactions more efficient with blockchain.

For the Argentina-Paraguay transaction, no fiat currency changed hands, and no SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) network was used.

This is not the first time Bitex has done something similar. Previously in May 2018, Bitex entered a joint venture with Argentine bank Banco Masventas (BMV) to allow customers to use Bitcoin for cross-border payments as an alternative to using SWIFT. At the time, BMV said the service will mean international transfer times are reduced by up to 24 hours.