Late Sunday night, it was confirmed that bitcoin-friendly candidate Javier Mileiofficiallywon Argentina’s presidential election, beating his opponent Sergio Massa by 2,786,457 votes. The new president will take office on December 10.
While Milei has not yet advocated for bitcoin to be used as legal tender or to hold btc as a reserve asset, he does have plans to eliminate the Argentine peso and replace it with the US dollar. Last Monday, the Argentine peso saw its hyperinflation rise to 143% and continue to grow, leaving the nation financially ruined and in desperate need of change.
Earlier this year, hundreds of Argentines rallied in support of bitcoin, forming a giant btc symbol to protest the rampant inflation plaguing the country.
Argentina’s new president has been very explicit in his criticism of central banking, previously stating: “The central bank is a scam, a mechanism by which politicians deceive good people with inflationary taxes.” After that he commented on bitcoin, saying that it “represents the return of money to its original creator, the private sector,” and that it “prevents politicians from stealing from you through inflation.”
He also appeared on a TV show in the past, mercilessly hitting a central bank piñata with a stick.
While the future of bitcoin remains uncertain in Argentina at this time, the inauguration of Javier Milei is expected to be another step towards the country joining El Salvador in officially adopting bitcoin as legal tender and its maintenance as a reserve asset.
