Argentina Looks Towards El Salvador to Reinvigorate Bitcoin Policy
Argentina's Bitcoin regulators successfully met with their Salvadoran counterparts. Argentina's crypto community is now mobilizing to revitalize the country's blockchain infrastructure.
After several months of tepid pro-Bitcoin policies from the government and increasing Bitcoin acceptance from the people, Argentina is finally partnering up with El Salvador to make some real headway into a turbocharged future for the nation’s digital asset industry.
Since Javier Milei was elected the newest President of the Argentine Republic in late 2023, the international Bitcoin community has placed a lot of hope on his shoulders as a potential champion for the world’s leading decentralized currency. Milei came into office openly espousing a libertarian ideology that very much dovetails with the core ethos of Bitcoin and had even gone so far as to directly praise the cryptoasset on several occasions. Despite these initial green lights, Milei’s administration has currently been embroiled in a severe economic crisis that has left little attention for a straightforward Bitcoin initiative. Due to a dearth of direct public comments on the subject, it has been difficult to address the man’s personal views on the notion of Bitcoin, as his hands have been more than full with many other urgent matters of state. However, this trend appears to be changing at last.
On May 27th, it was announced that Argentina held a diplomatic meeting with El Salvador to seek guidance and support from the other country’s wealth of experience with Bitcoin. El Salvador has been a true trailblazer since 2021, when it adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender, and its path since then has included a stunning range of development and outreach programs to support the growing Bitcoin industry. In fact, this meeting can arguably be traced to a seed first planted at Milei’s election, when Salvadoran President Bukele sent “Team Bitcoin El Salvador'' on a mission to spread Bitcoin education and advocacy to the new head of state.
The meeting took place in Argentina and consisted of representatives from both countries’ crypto-related regulatory bodies: the National Securities Convention (CNV) from Argentina and El Salvador’s National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD). The meeting took place on May 23rd, but it took circulation through the English-language media space a few days later, resulting in an immediate spike in Bitcoin’s valuation. Considering that the CNV’s President plainly stated that “We aim to strengthen our ties with El Salvador and are exploring potential collaboration agreements,” the world has been excited to see what inspiration Argentina will draw from a country it considers “a global leader not only in the use of Bitcoin but also in the broader realm of digital assets”.
Of course, this is not to suggest that Bitcoin’s potential in Argentina has been lying completely fallow in the months between Milei’s election and this meeting. It would be more accurate to at least claim, however, that the majority of gains have either come from more local government actions or from the entrepreneurs of Argentina’s Bitcoin space. For example, a rental agreement in the city of Rosario made headlines in January on account of its stipulation that the tenant pay rent in Bitcoin. Similarly, March saw the Senate unanimously pass legislation creating the CNV. Much more promising, however, has been a knock-on effect of the economic crisis: ordinary Argentines are adopting Bitcoin at unprecedented rates. Bitcoin’s track record as a store-of-value is rock solid, and resurgent inflation has created all the incentives many people need to secure their economic future with Bitcoin.
Since this wave of adoption began in March, the path has really opened for new Bitcoin-friendly initiatives in the country. The beginning of May saw state-run natural gas facilities begin implementing flared gas mining, allowing the state to recoup some of its losses on inevitable waste emissions to create new Bitcoin. This solution was clearly just the prelude to the new partnership with El Salvador, however. Although nothing concrete has been announced as of yet, all official quotes seem to suggest a desire for a deep partnership. For example, the CNV’s Vice President, Dr. Patricia Boedo, had visited El Salvador in anticipation of this meeting in order to see the country’s successes firsthand. Local coverage is full of nothing but praise from Dr. Boedo, who wants foremost to “highlight the experience of El Salvador when it comes to the world of crypto assets. I had the opportunity to exchange experiences during the visit to that country, and it seems essential to me to continue strengthening ties with a Republic that is a pioneer in the subject, and that has vast experience in the subject.”.
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As far as their CNAD counterparts in El Salvador are concerned, it seems that everyone has walked away from this meeting with a real feeling for some Bitcoin brotherly love. CNAD President Juan Carlos Reyes called Argentina a “pioneer in technology," adding that the CNV “understands and wants to work with the industry efficiently and create appropriate regulation." He added that he “appreciated the approach” from Argentina, as Reyes feels that his own organization is an “authority with experience in the digital assets industry, responsible for applying a robust regulatory framework in this matter.”.
In other words, nobody involved seems to be giving any sign that this meeting was a mere formality or photo op, rather suggesting that the two governments will engage in meaningful partnerships in the near future. Reyes' final comments on the CNAD’s wealth of experience may seem a bit high-handed at first glance, but it’s important to remember that El Salvador’s Bitcoin regulator is responsible for no less than the legal tender of the nation. A great deal of economic matters have fallen under his responsibility, which has doubtlessly given him experience unlike any other Bitcoin regulator in the world.
If nothing else, the good news from this meeting of the minds has already inspired leading figures in Argentina’s Bitcoin industry to take initiative on their own accord. Plans for a “Blockchain Valley” in Argentina’s capital were announced on May 27th, undertaken by a new movement calling itself "Crecimiento." Meaning "growth," its membership includes many of the largest businesses in the country’s Bitcoin space, including local exchange Lemon Cash, which directly confirmed the rapidly-growing adoption of Bitcoin in the country. Crecimiento is planning to attract jobs and new economic development with a blockchain infrastructure program in the nation’s own capital, and it’s already announced two major assets: a pipeline of venture capital funding and backing from Milei’s own advisors.
It’s anyone’s guess as to how far this long-awaited partnership will go in developing both countries and the Bitcoin Revolution worldwide. After all, even though Argentina is currently in an economic crisis, its embroiled economy still boasts a GDP around 200 times as large as that of tiny El Salvador. Both countries stand to benefit, whether it be from Argentina getting new knowledge or El Salvador getting a new trading partner. In short, El Salvador’s persistent efforts to evangelize the message of Bitcoin around the world may finally be paying off in a big way. It is blazing the trail for Bitcoin adoption on the world stage, but there may be two countries officially adopting Bitcoin in the future.
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I hope Argentina goes full steam ahead on bitcoin