- Bitcoin maxis continue urging Milei to embrace BTC for state-level adoption.
- Milei confirmed his openness to all mediums of exchange, including BTC, oil, gas, and even beef.
- The Argentine president supports individuals‘ right to choose any payment method.
Argentine President Javier Milei inherited leadership of a country in dire straits after being elected in November 2023. Runaway inflation was a primary concern. In response, he has imposed radical reforms, including unpopular measures such as cutting government jobs to shrink public expenditures and devaluing the peso to boost exports.
Among the myriad of reforms, the issue of state-level Bitcoin adoption continues to crop up. Despite Milei’s general positivity around BTC, his latest tweet on the matter suggests a more balanced approach, encompassing all currencies and cryptocurrencies under free market competition.
Bitcoin & More Accepted
Bitcoin advocates have been pushing for state-level BTC adoption in Argentina since Milei took office nearly eight months ago. This type of adoption could include policies recognizing BTC as legal tender and acquiring BTC as a treasury asset.
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However, Milei’s recent statement has clarified his position, which differs from the Bitcoin-only approach. The president expressed his desire for “free competition of currencies,” indicating that while there would be “no problem” using Bitcoin if individuals or businesses choose to do so.
Milei expanded on this idea, stating that this approach applies to anything that can serve as a medium of exchange. This includes commodities like oil or gas or any other unit that “is most appropriate for your business.” This stance suggested a much broader view of what can constitute money in Argentina’s economy than what Bitcoin maxis had hoped for.
Further confirming his openness to the use of multiple forms of exchange, Milei retweeted a post by “Lady Market” of the BingX crypto exchange, which simply stated “Free currency competition. end.”
Milei Wants “Freedom to Transact”
In January, Milei attended the World Economic Forum, where he participated in a panel discussion on “Achieving Security and Cooperation in a Fractured World.”
During the discussion, Milei expressed his belief that prosperity is fundamentally linked to the freedom to transact. He emphasized that individuals should have the right to choose their preferred medium of exchange, whether it be traditional fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies, or even barter systems.
This take has already begun to materialize in Argentina’s economic landscape. Following contract deregulation reforms ratified in December 2023, the country has legalized the use of any medium of exchange for payments, provided the selling party agrees.
This broad interpretation of acceptable payment methods extends beyond conventional currencies, or even cryptocurrencies, to include unconventional methods of payment such as kilograms of beef or liters of milk, therefore embodying Milei’s vision of transactional freedom.
On the Flipside
- Argentina‘s consumer price index (CPI) dropped to 276.4% in May from 292.2% in April.
- Milei is explicitly attempting to dollarize the Argentine economy.
Why This Matters
Milei underscored his openness to a wide array of currencies, not just Bitcoin, for use in Argentina’s economy. This stance challenges the idea of adopting a single dominant cryptocurrency, instead allowing various mediums of exchange to coexist and compete in a free and open market.
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