Calls For Bitcoin Legal Tender Grow After Milei’s Victory

• Javier Milei is declared victorious in Argentina’s election.
• Bitcoiners hope Milei will make BTC legal tender in the country.
• Milei intends to pursue dollarization.

Bitcoin was born as a response to the 2008 financial crisis that eroded public trust in the financial sector and governments, who opted to bail out the banks at taxpayers’ expense. With the seeds of distrust sown in fiat money, Bitcoin has gained traction as an alternative due to its decentralized, apolitical nature, and fixed supply that counters inflationary pressures.

Javier Milei, who was recently elected in Argentina’s general election, is one of the many influential figures endorsing Bitcoin. His election victory comes amidst a decades-long wave of economic unrest in the country, fueling hope that Argentina could become the next country to embrace BTC as a legal tender.

Milei Has Radical Plans 

Javier Milei has in the past endorsed Bitcoin as a possible solution to the broken central bank monetary system, alongside gold. However, Milei has not expressed any intention to push BTC as a legal tender in Argentina. Instead, Milei’s campaign policy centered around dollarizing the Argentinian economy in order to tackle rampant inflation, which is currently running at 143% .

Nonetheless, given Milei’s other radical plans, which include reducing the size of government with a 15% cut to public spending, cutting ties with the world’s workshop, China, and shutting down the Central Bank of Argentina, Bitcoiners are hopeful that BTC as legal tender is at least on the agenda for discussion.

Keen to strike while positive sentiment is running high, Bitcoin bull Max Keiser requested permission from El Salvador’s President Bukele to arrange Bitcoin talks with Argentina’s newly elected president to drive the issue forward. El Salvador was the first country to make BTC legal tender following the ratification of the Bitcoin Law in September 2021 .

Keiser’s outreach reflects the broader enthusiasm and high hopes many in the Bitcoin community now have following Milei’s election victory.  

Bitcoin Supporters Call For Legal Tender

Milei’s election victory speech included his vision of making Argentina a superpower within 35 years. In response, Jan3 CEO Samson Mow suggested that Argentina could achieve superpower status in less than 35 years by adopting a Bitcoin standard.

Similarly, Riot Platforms researcher Pierre Rochard chimed in to push the idea of Bitcoinization over dollarization, adding that this could set Argentina off on becoming one of the world’s wealthiest countries.  

However, Adam Cochran, partner at Cinneahain Ventures, brought a sense of reality back into proceedings by mentioning that Milei’s only Bitcoin policy is to make it legal to trade, much like the policy of many other jurisdictions. 

On the Flipside

• The path to dollarizing the Argentinian economy is unclear as the country lacks dollar reserves and international credit.
• Milei’s radical policies may appeal to libertarians but are largely untested. 

Why This Matters

Milei’s election win reflects an eagerness to break from the status quo and change how the finance system operates. While unclear if Milei will make Bitcoin legal tender, his victory represents the desire for alternatives to the zero-sum game of fiat currencies.

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