Argentina’s new president legalizes all foreign currencies, including Bitcoin payments

Argentina’s newly elected leader Javier Miliei has abolished mandatory fiat currency laws, no longer forcing Argentines to repay debts in a specific currency, allowing the use of alternative currencies such as the US dollar and Bitcoin (BTC).

The regulation comes with a sweeping executive order repealing more than 300 laws aimed at deregulating and rebuilding Argentina's economy. It also fulfills one of Milei's main campaign promises to promote competition among local currencies and help "dollarize" the country.

On Wednesday, a translated version of the decree stated: "It is necessary to respect the will of citizens by agreeing to cancel their payments in the form of legal tender."

The country’s foreign minister clarified on Thursday that contracts can now be “negotiated in Bitcoin,” while also including virtually any other cryptocurrency or physical commodity, including “kilos of beef or liters of milk.”

Although not explicitly targeting cryptocurrencies, industry influencers see the bill as a step toward the adoption of Bitcoin (BTC), which supporters claim can help members of unstable economies escape hyperinflation.

The supply of this asset is capped at 21 million coins, unlike the Argentine peso, whose supply was equal to 20% of the country’s GDP under the previous administration.

Argentina’s Inflation Problem

Indeed, Argentina's inflation rate has exceeded 100% annually since February, rising to 160% after Milei's election last month. Meanwhile, despite a 1,000% year-to-date gain against the Argentine peso, Bitcoin is still down 36% from its all-time high against the US dollar.

Milei made the fight against inflation and government generosity a focus of his campaign and expressed regret over the currency situation in his latest decree.

“Considering that the implementation of monetary policy has a range, between 18 and 24 months, even if no currency is issued today, we Argentines will continue to pay the price of the currency disaster of the previous government,” he declared.

Mirej asserted that given the central bank's liabilities, the government was heading towards annual inflation of 15,000% and that there was "no other solution" to the problem other than economic relaxation.

To the delight of the Bitcoin community, Milei advocated for the abolition of the country’s central bank, calling Bitcoin a “natural response” to central bank fraud.