The President of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, has shown support for virtual assets, maintaining that there is no reason to show resistance again the developing asset class.
In an interview with Caja Negra, a domestic media outlet on the 12th of August, President Fernandez replied to a query about whether he would consider delving into a CBDC, or central bank digital currency, or even acknowledge Bitcoin as a legal currency the same way El Salvador did a few months earlier in the year. Fernando stated that there was no reason to refuse. He also added that according to experts, the “inflationary effect” will largely be reversed.
Inflation had been a crucial problem for the previous president of Argentina, businessman Mauricio Macri. Public data goes to show that 100 Argentine pesos from earlier when Macri quit office in 2019 would be equal to 661 pesos today.
In spite of the nation’s strict currency controls, the present President took note of the increasing perceptions of Bitcoin as a possible hedge to combat inflation in the broader international economy. Nevertheless, Fernandez also deliberately noted that it is still very early for the crypto sector.
He went on to add that there is, in fact, caution due to how uncommon it is, also given the fact that it is difficult to understand how this wealth comes into existence. In spite of the president’s acceptance for exploring virtual assets, the head of the central bank of Argentina, Miguel Pesce, is seemingly threatening a clampdown on the industry.
Pesce addressed digital currencies while speaking during the Digital Finance Forum of the Argentine Institute of Executive of Finance on the 10th of August, referring to virtual assets as a hazard to economic stability and predicting tougher restrictions for the sector.
Pesce stated during the event that Bitcoin does not offer any such value to investors not part of the short-term publicity cycles. The central bank chief also compared the world’s most prominent currency to a commodity, saying that Bitcoin is not an economic asset under the nation’s National Securities Commission definition.
Pesce stated that he plans to control the junction of Bitcoin with the transaction system and equity market, cautioning that the virtual currency may prove to be very harmful to local financial stability.
Pesce also denied the proposition that Argentina could broaden its horizons to investigate a CBDC or central bank virtual currency.
