In today’s Argentina, inflation is no joke and prices change every day. This means that it is fertile ground for the adoption of bitcoins and cryptocurrencies. “The central bank has repeatedly warned about the risk of investing in volatile digital currencies, and some adopters are taking note.” says Reuters. Once in a blue moon, the mainstream media reports on bitcoin and crypto in a relatively positive light, and Argentina inspired one of those rare articles.
According to Reuters, “Crypto penetration in Argentina was 12%, roughly double the level of Mexico and Brazil.” The reason could be that the peso “has depreciated by 14% this year against the dollar” and that “annual inflation rose to 58% in April and could reach 70% this year.” Not only that, Argentina is under “capital controls that limit foreign exchange to $200 per month.” So there is a huge incentive to seek refuge in bitcoins and stablecoins.
From Argentina: The owner of the cafe
The Crypstation cafe has recently opened in the Buenos Aires port of Puerto Madero. The screens display “real-time cryptocurrency price quotes” and accept bitcoin and crypto. Reuters quotes one of Crypstation’s founders, Mauro Liberman:
“The local environment is pushing people to protect their capital in cryptocurrencies, and so we see growth accelerating. Across Latin America the potential for growth is huge. It’s an avalanche that won’t stop.”
From Argentina: The IT Specialist
Another interviewee is Victor Levrero, “an IT specialist in the province of Buenos Aires” who “invests his extra savings in stablecoins and bitcoins every month after using his $200 fee to convert pesos into dollars.” He told Reuters he doesn’t even bother with the banks:
“Basically, it’s because I lose less. With Argentine inflation at 60-70% and fixed terms paying 30-35%, it just doesn’t work.”
BTC price chart for 09/20/2022 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
From Argentina: The Independent Computer Technician
Although he is into computers, Marcelo Vila only has “a small amount invested in bitcoin and Ether”. You are proceeding with caution, as all newcomers should:
“The idea is to expand the proportion of funds invested in crypto. But until I know the crypto market, I can’t invest a lot of money in it.”
From Argentina: The Home Miner
The fourth subject is Sebastian Carsorio, who comes from a poor neighborhood and is “looking to break out of poverty with a home-made cryptocurrency mine he set up using recycled computer parts from his job.” impressive
“I repaired things and put them together on a computer,” he told Reuters at his home, where he had screens showing how the mining was going. He started with Ethereum and then bitcoin, which allowed him to buy land and go back to school.
“I’m going to keep mining because it’s a good way to save,” Carsorio said, explaining that he gets a better exchange rate for pesos than on the street. “When money has been tight, mining has saved me many times.”
How many Argentines could say something similar? Bitcoin and crypto are gaining ground in the country because people need them. The agreement that the government signed with the IMF that specifically required them to discourage the bitcoin industry in Argentina can only do so much. People need a shelter from inflation and cryptocurrencies provide that, it’s as simple as that.
In recent news that reflects crypto adoption, Bitfarms recently started the engine new bitcoin farm in argentina. For its part, the government of announced the wine region of Mendoza that will accept tax payments in cryptocurrencies.
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