Argentina Elects New President - Bitcoin Price Slightly Up
Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, saw a modest 3% increase following the election of Javier Milei as President of Argentina.
Argentina Elects New President - Bitcoin Price Slightly Up
Preliminary voting results as of the morning of November 20 (Vietnam time) indicate that Javier Milei, the presidential candidate, will become the new leader of this Latin American nation.
Specifically, with a vote tally of 93.4% at the time of writing, Milei secured 55.8% of the votes, surpassing his direct rival, Economy Minister Sergio Massa.
Javier Milei is trusted by the Argentine people to bring significant economic reforms to a country that has been in economic stagnation and faced rampant inflation for over a decade. As of October 2023, inflation in Argentina hit a record high of 142.9%.
Milei, a political outsider with a background as a journalist, frequently criticizes flawed economic policies and corruption in Argentina. His election signifies widespread public disillusionment with the ruling Peronist faction, which has governed the country since the restoration of the republic in 1983.
In his campaign, Milei pledged extensive reforms, including a 15% cut in government spending to save the budget, closing Argentina's central bank, and transitioning from the Argentine peso to the US dollar as the legal tender. He often appeared at campaign events with a chainsaw to symbolize his commitment to fiscal austerity. His strong personality and calls for economic overhaul have drawn comparisons to former US President Donald Trump.
However, the right-wing politician has also sparked controversy with statements on trade relations with China, climate change, and even Pope Francis, who is Argentine.
CNN suggests that if Milei indeed transitions Argentina to use the US dollar, it would be an unprecedented policy shift globally, as no economy of Argentina's scale has abandoned its national currency and embraced monetary policy dependence on the US. According to World Bank data, Argentina's GDP reached $632.7 billion in 2022, its second-highest level in history.
Additionally, the incoming President has expressed favorable views on cryptocurrencies in the past. When asked about Bitcoin, Milei remarked:
"We must understand that central banks are a deceptive concept. What Bitcoin represents is returning currency to its source, namely the private sector."
Despite this, Milei has not explicitly endorsed Bitcoin as legal tender, a move that another Latin American nation, El Salvador, implemented by adopting the US dollar as its national currency in 2021.
Bitcoin's price rose from $36,980 to $37,500 in the early hours of November 20 following the news of Javier Milei's election as President of Argentina.
Chart of BTC/USDT pair on Binance at 08:50 AM on November 20, 2023
