Key Takeaways
- Economist Javier Milei will become the new president of Argentina after defeating Sergio Massa.
- Milei has made positive statements regarding bitcoin in the past, and he has also called for the abolishment of the Central Bank of Argentina.
- Milei has not outlined any specific policies regarding Bitcoin, but the dollarization of Argentina was a core tenet of his presidential campaign.
- Bitcoin has become increasingly relevant in political campaigns around the world in recent years.
On Sunday, the Libertarian Party’s Javier Milei was elected as the new president of Argentina. Milei has spoken positively about bitcoin in the past, and the price of the crypto asset rose to roughly $37,500 as Milei’s opponent in the runoff election conceded defeat.
Milei Has Embraced Bitcoin But Has No Policy Outlined
Libertarian Javier Milei defeated fellow contender Sergio Massa in the runoff election for the president of Argentina on Sunday, with Milei receiving nearly 56% of the final vote tally.
The election result was viewed positively by bitcoin proponents around the world, as Milei has spoken supportively about the crypto asset in the past. Earlier this year, Milei referred to bitcoin as a representation of the “return of money to its original creator, the private sector.”
Milei has already drawn comparisons to the heavily pro-bitcoin president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who declared bitcoin legal tender in his country. However, the new president-elect of Argentina has not yet outlined a specific bitcoin policy for the country.
That said, Milei has promised to close the Central Bank of Argentina and embrace the dollarization of the Argentine economy. Argentina has a long history of difficulties with inflation, and the country has recently been struggling with an inflation rate of more than 100%.
“Ultimately, Grayscale Research views this as a meaningful step forward for crypto adoption, as bitcoin moves closer toward fulfilling its role as a super-sovereign means of exchange to accelerate a more accessible and inclusive financial system,” wrote crypto asset manager Grayscale’s Matt Maximo regarding the potential impact of Milei’s victory.
Bitcoin Gathering Political Currency
Milei is yet another example of bitcoin becoming a larger talking point in the global political landscape.
In the United States, independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made his first official appearance as a presidential candidate at a bitcoin conference earlier this year. Additionally, the current mayors of both New York City and Miami have talked about turning their respective cities into crypto hubs.
That said, there are also opponents of crypto in the U.S., most notably Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has embraced the idea of building an “anti-crypto army” in Washington.
In the past, Venezuela, which has been dealing with much worse levels of inflation than Argentina, attempted to create its own crypto token. However, Venezuela’s crypto project, known as the Petro, was largely centralized, working much differently from bitcoin and failed in achieving what it set out to do.
