Post: #1

With more and more Argentinians losing faith in their own currency and the brutal clapdown to prevent capital flight there does seem to be a good arb opportunity here.

I have Argentinian friends who I can trust that has a local bank account so that's one part of the the puzzle sorted.

I already have bitcoin and a US dollar account (currently empty) that I could use if I needed to.

Whats called the 'blue rate' for the dollar is 25% higher than the official rate on the ground in BsAs.

Lets use this thread to share some thoughts on how to do this from outside of Argentina (I have not plans to go to Argentina again though I guess I could if I needed to).

Thoughts?

Post: #2

BTW if you want to see what the blue market rate vs the official rate looks like, it looks like this.

https://thebluemarket.wordpress.com/2012...argentina/ (scroll down to see chart)

In other words, if you are thinking of going to Argentina. Take dollars (or other hard currency) and never use an ATM or a bank to get money because you will get it at the official rate.

Yes, Argentina is the new Venezuela.

Post: #3

I've been thinking of traveling to Argentina or Venezuela with a few thousand (up to $10k) in US cash. One could probably live there for a few months with the black market exchange rate.

One concern is the possibility of getting money confiscated at the airport. Hell, in the US, police will take money they find in your car. Another thought, what are valuables that could be purchased there and be brought back to the US and exchanged back to US dollars (maybe bitcoin). Banks here are not participating in currency exchange .

This is a good thread to exchange ideas.

Post: #4

(03-19-2014 04:04 PM)GoodTimer Wrote:  One concern is the possibility of getting money confiscated at the airport.

One way around that might be to fly to Montevideo and take the ferry over.

I have taken that ferry journey a few times on visa runs. They never search your bags (or at least they didn't a few years back).

Post: #5

(03-19-2014 04:04 PM)GoodTimer Wrote:  I've been thinking of traveling to Argentina or Venezuela with a few thousand (up to $10k) in US cash. One could probably live there for a few months with the black market exchange rate.

One concern is the possibility of getting money confiscated at the airport. Hell, in the US, police will take money they find in your car. Another thought, what are valuables that could be purchased there and be brought back to the US and exchanged back to US dollars (maybe bitcoin). Banks here are not participating in currency exchange .

This is a good thread to exchange ideas.

Why would your money be confiscated? You can bring up to $10k legally without reporting it. There's no issue with that, wear a money belt, take an official taxi, don't take money like that out in public, you'll be fine.

Some products are significantly cheaper in Argentina, notably medicine (especially that which is made in Argentina) - taking that back to the US has significant issues, though. I don't know of anything else small and compact w/ high resale value in the US. Dulce de leche, mate, etc. are not worth it. If you bring fabric you can get extremely high quality suits custom made for yourself, but the fabric is the catch on that, due to import restrictions.

Post: #6

(03-19-2014 03:05 PM)JJ Roberts Wrote:  BTW if you want to see what the blue market rate vs the official rate looks like, it looks like this.

https://thebluemarket.wordpress.com/2012...argentina/ (scroll down to see chart)

In other words, if you are thinking of going to Argentina. Take dollars (or other hard currency) and never use an ATM or a bank to get money because you will get it at the official rate.

Yes, Argentina is the new Venezuela.

2012 is a long time ago.

We already have at least one thread on this (I started one a few years ago and I believe there have been a few since).

As for bitcoins, in my experience they net you worse than the blue rate, not worth messing with (localbitcoin). If you know someone who can get you a better rate, more power to you.

Post: #7

Below is a link to an 11 minute liveleak video which explains the situation in Venezuela, the situation may have similarities to Argentina.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=204_1394902726