TL;DR
- Bitcoin-friendly presidential candidate Javier Milei wins the final runoff vote in Argentina.
- With nearly 99% of the votes counted, Milei won with over 50%, while his rival Massa garnered over 40%.
Argentina Welcomes Pro-Bitcoin Presidency
Argentina’s pro-bitcoin candidate, Javier Milei, won the country’s presidential runoff election on November 19, 2023.
Milei’s victory rolls the dice to an outsider with radical views on how to fix Argentina’s battered economy.
The electoral results show Javier with almost 56% versus 44% for his opponent, Sergio Massa, a Peronist Economic minister.
Massa has already conceded in a speech. His chances of winning were hampered by Argentina’s economic crisis, which had been happening for almost two decades while he was in office.
Obviously, the results are not what we expected. I have contacted Javier Milei to congratulate him. From tomorrow, the responsibility of providing certainty belongs to Milei.
Sergio Massa said in his speech.
The world observes as Argentina welcomes a new leader who champions a decentralized revolution.
It ushers in a new era for the country and sheds light on cryptocurrency’s transformative power in redefining nations’ futures, which is seen more clearly in how the UK transforms stablecoins into a viable payment method.
BTC Performance After Presidential Results
Bitcoin (BTC) was trading steadily on November 18, 2023, and began to rise after Milei’s strong performance on the presidential results.
Following Sergio Massa’s concession on Nov. 19, 2023, BTC rose by nearly 2% over the last 24 hours and is trading at $37,137.
Milei sees Bitcoin as a pivotal movement that can advocate for the return of money to the private sector.
Irrespective of Milei’s Bitcoin-supportive stance, there’s no sign that he’s planning to make BTC legal tender or hold BTC as a reserve asset in Argentina.
On the other hand, Sergio Massa’s views on money, banking, and digital currency were quite different from Milei’s beliefs.
Mass promised to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the presidential debate if elected to counter Argentina’s prolonged inflation crisis.
Sergio was victorious in the first round of the presidential election in October 2023. But, it was not enough to win the election outright, enabling the final runoff vote.
Before that, Milei became victorious in Argentina’s primary election against Sergio and other candidates in August 2023.
Milei’s presidency is a ray of hope for stepping closer to adopting Bitcoin as legal tender and holding it as a reserve asset.
Javier Milei to Shut Down the Central Bank
Once the runoff winner assumes office on December 10, 2023, he will have formidable obstacles.
He will tackle empty coffers of the central bank and government, creaking debt program with IMF and a dizzy array of capital controls.
While Argentina is still crippled in a prolonged inflation crisis, Milei’s criticism of the central bank’s role resonated with angry voters.
Javier promises to bring economic shock therapy. He plans to shut down the central bank, slash spending, and ditch the Argentine peso.
The Argentine economy is predicted to take a turn for the worst once more this year, as inflation skyrockets to nearly 150% and lives over about 40%.
It has made the price of Bitcoin (BTC) notch to a new all-time high against the Argentine peso, which could benefit the people of Argentina.
Milei’s victory will shake up Argentina’s political landscape but, more importantly, its economic roadmap. It could impact trade in grains, hydrocarbons, and lithium.
Will the intersection of Bitcoin and politics in Argentina have potential implications for both traditional and digital economies?
