Argentina and BTC? The president of the country, which is troubled by high inflation, is closely monitoring the BTC
2 min readArgentine President Alberto Fernandez, who has been skeptical of cryptocurrencies in the past, has indicated his readiness to support steps to increase the adoption of digital assets in his country.
Alberto Fernandez answered a question about cryptocurrencies in an interview with Filo.news, where he was asked if he would consider adopting the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC) or even willing to accept BTC as legal tender, following the example of nearby El Salvador.
The president responded with words that surprisingly indicated his affection for BTC: “I don’t want me to go too far,” but there’s no reason to say no. Maybe it’s a good way to go. The advantage is said to be that the inflation effect is largely nullified. ”
From Fernandez’s answer, it can be deduced that he spoke of BTC, although he did not mention it directly.
President of Argentina has said he open to seeing a bigger role for #BTC in their economy! https://t.co/STTmJz1f4t
– Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) August 13, 2021
Argentina has a problem with high inflation
Inflation is one of the most pressing problems of the Fernández government. According to the Bloomberg World Misery Index, the current president inherited the world’s second poorest economy after taking office. According to local government, $ 100 at the start of Mauritius Macri’s transition today would be as high as $ 661. In Argentina, meanwhile, the black market in foreign currencies is spreading, which is quite different from El Salvador, where they have the US dollar as legal tender.
So can BTC help address the inflationary concerns of a country of 40 million people? President Fernandez responded cautiously:
“We are following the global debate on this subject and we must admit that we are approaching it very carefully. In my case, there is great caution against something that is still unknown. It is difficult to understand how this property materializes. Many people are concerned about this, which is why this project, or the ecosystem (BTC), has not expanded significantly. However, this is to be considered. “
The popularity of cryptocurrencies in Argentina is growing
In Argentina, more and more people are interested in cryptocurrencies. Rising inflation also “helps” this, which motivates them to look for investment instruments through which they can protect their assets. Therefore, in addition to BTC, Argentines often resort to acquiring stablecoins tied, for example, to the value of the US dollar, including the decentralized stablecoin DAI.
