Javier Milei is big on decentralization but does he care about bitcoin?
Far-right libertarian candidate Javier Milei has been elected as Argentina’s new president after he garnered almost 56% of the vote in the all-important run-off election.
As reported by the BBC, Milei, nicknamed ‘El Loco’ (the Madman) by his opponents, has proposed a number of hardline far-right measures, including slashing welfare, pulling the plug on the ministries of health, culture, and women, abolishing abortion, and slackening gun laws.
He also wants to green-light the buying and selling of human organs.
Predictably, his proposed economic reforms also have a distinctly libertarian flavor, with the decentralization of the country’s economy high on the agenda. According to Milei, he wants to do away with the peso and “blow up” the central bank.
I’m glad for the Argentine people, but can anyone point to me the pro-bitcoin policies that Javier Milei has proposed?
— Pledditor (@Pledditor) November 20, 2023
As a result of this economic stance, the smooth-moving, chainsaw-wielding 53-year-old has cultivated something of a pro-bitcoin reputation in some quarters. Indeed, he once claimed that “Bitcoin represents money’s return to its original maker: the private sector.”
However, X users are already pointing out that not only has he failed to treat Argentina to a raft of innovative new Bitcoin-related policies, he doesn’t actually seem to care that much about it at all. At least no more than he appears to care about a number of other cryptos — and Ponzis.
Milei has previously promoted Ethereum along with questionable digital asset platforms. As Protos previously reported, some Argentine victims of the CoinX pyramid scheme sued Milei for his role in promoting it. Argentinian authorities censured CoinX for failing to deliver its promised returns.
Milei also raised eyebrows when he unveiled his proposed policy of dollarization. Such a move would likely have severe ramifications for crypto.
Digital assets are very popular in Argentina with about a third of the population using them on a daily basis. However, this is primarily as an investment tool or a store of value in the face of rampant inflation and tight controls on US currency entering the country.
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However, if the new president’s program of dollarization were to come to fruition and foreign currency became easier to procure, this would render the need for widespread crypto use in Argentina redundant.
It’s also worth noting that, unlike his Salvadoran counterpart Nayib Bukele, Milei has so far shown no interest in making bitcoin legal tender in his country.
Of course, he may be waiting until he assumes control to implement his bitcoin revolution but at the moment, it appears likely that he’s simply chasing widespread decentralization and he’s not all that bothered about whether or not bitcoin is the answer.