A giant step towards adoption? Argentina’s Foreign Minister has confirmed that Bitcoin (BTC) can now be used in official contracts. Will the country also make BTC a legal tender?
In Argentina, contracts can be settled in Bitcoin
Freshly elected Argentine president Javier Milei has a reputation for being open to cryptocurrencies. But until now, neither his program nor his decisions have reflected this.
A sign of openness has just been noted, however, with an announcement from Foreign Minister Diana Mondino. She confirms that the largest cryptocurrency has partial legal status in Argentina:
“We ratify and confirm that in Argentina it is possible to settle contracts in Bitcoin. “
Ratificamos y confirmamos que en Argentina se podrán pactar contratos en Bitcoin.
– Diana Mondino (@DianaMondino) December 21, 2023
The Minister of Foreign Affairs specifies that this is the case for “all other cryptocurrencies and/or species [sic], for example kilos of beef or liters of milk”. She cites a decree, which specifies that the debtor must send the corresponding quantity in the designated currency, whether it is legal tender in Argentina or not.
Will Bitcoin be adopted?
The decree was validated two days ago, and it changes the way Argentines can carry out transactions and settle contracts. The message sent by the Minister of Foreign Affairs is therefore significant: it shows that Argentina does indeed intend to rely on other currencies and assets to turn its economy around.
Indeed, this was the key campaign promise of Javier Milei, who hammered home his desire to get rid of the fiat currency (the peso) and the Central Bank, and “dollarize” his country.
So this is a step towards digital currencies, especially as Diana Mondino explicitly mentions Bitcoin. But it’s a long way from BTC being adopted as a legal tender.
For the time being, Argentina seems more intent on opening up to a variety of assets, and centering the majority of its economy around the US greenback. On the other hand, Javier Milei has not yet spoken publicly on the subject of cryptocurrencies.
