- The Argentina president has expressed his opinion on Bitcoin noting that he would be open to the digital asset having a larger role in the economy.
- His comments come days after critical comments about Bitcoin from the president of Argentina’s central bank, Miguel Pesce.
It seems there is a split opinion on Bitcoin in Argentina. This has become clear following the country’s president Alberto Fernandez, comments in a recent interview. His comments, while conservative, suggest that the president is open to adopting Bitcoin and believes that the digital asset could add value to Argentina’s crippled economy. In contrast, the president of Argentina’s central bank, Miguel Pesce, a few days ago was critical of Bitcoin arguing that it is not a financial asset and did not generate any lasting profitability.
Since El Salvador put its plan to adopt Bitcoin in motion, the world has been keen to see if other countries will follow the same trend. On top of this, there has been keen interest in central bank digital currency (CBDC) with numerous governments seeing great benefits in modernizing the outdated paper money. When President Fernandez was asked if he was open to adopting a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or even Bitcoin, he stated;
I don’t want to go too far out on a limb […] but there is no reason to say ‘no,’
President of Argentina central bank: Bitcoin is not a financial asset
“They say the advantage is that the inflationary effect is largely nullified,” he went on to add. The South American country is one of the hardest-hit economies with inflation hitting record levels in the last few years. Argentinians use Bitcoin to indirectly get exposure to the dollar, allowing them to hedge against inflation. The president went on to explain;
It is a global debate, and I must confess that it is a topic [that I approach with]caution. In my case, there is caution because of how unfamiliar it is, and because it is hard to understand how this fortune materializes,
He was clear that these concerns are shared around the world and remain the major reason why the adoption of digital assets such as Bitcoin has remained relatively low. However, with the recent price surge, regulatory clarity in leading economies and institutional adoption, many are beginning to consider adoption.
Related: Max Keiser predicts politicians turnaround and adoption of Bitcoin as standard in 4 years
Unfortunately, while the president seems open to the idea of Bitcoin, some in his administration seem to have made up their mind that Bitcoin is not beneficial. Argentina’s central bank governor Miguel Pesce a few days ago claimed that Bitcoin is not a real financial asset. He went on to make the false claim that Bitcoin doesn’t have lasting profitability.
