Argentina and Bitcoin were seemingly made for each other. On the one hand, a country that has suffered from numerous bouts of inflation and even hyperinflation since the Second World War. On the other hand, a cryptocurrency backed by cold mathematics rather than a populist government.
Despite the fact that Argentina is one of the leading countries using cryptocurrency as a means of payment for more than three years, there is no separate legislation in the country.
In 2014, Bitcoin received a sharp rebuff at the government level. The Central Bank of Argentina (Banco Central de la República Argentina, or BCRA) has warned citizens about the risks associated with using cryptocurrency. The bank announced that “the risks associated with the transactions, purchase or use of virtual coins as payment are supported solely by their users.” The May speech by a BCRA representative was the first official announcement about virtual currencies.
The second is Resolution 300/2014, issued on July 10, 2014 by the Financial Information Unit (Unidad de Información Financiera, or UIF), the anti-money laundering agency. This resolution "ordered all financial companies in the country to report transactions that include Bitcoin and digital currencies."
Despite this, at the same time, the Bitex.la cryptocurrency exchange was launched in Buenos Aires, which then attracted two million dollars in investments and cryptocurrency continued to gain popularity as a way to protect against inflation.
A new push for the popularization of cryptocurrency is associated with the President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, elected in 2015, considered one of the most progressive presidents in all of Latin America. America.
Currently in Argentina, Bitcoin is regulated by the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code (Código Civil y Comercial de la Nación) and the National Constitution.
According to Argentine law, cryptocurrency is not a national currency, since it is not issued by a government monetary authority and is not legal tender, but can be considered as money. Digital currency can also be considered a product or asset within the meaning of the Civil Code. Article 15 states that "People have individual rights to the property constituting their assets in accordance with what is established in this code." In the case of Bitcoin, the asset could be a private key that each person uses to access their digital wallet. In accordance with the same Civil Code, transactions with Bitcoin are regulated by the rules for the sale of goods..
Given the instability of the financial system, the popularity of Bitcoin as a solution to accumulated problems is growing every day.
During 2017, the Central Bank of Argentina and the country's government demonstrated a loyal attitude towards Bitcoin and its ability to carry out international money transfers without the mediation of banks. Plans have been announced to introduce cryptocurrency products to Argentina's largest futures market. Argentine President Mauricio Macri discussed the prospects of cryptocurrency with famous Bitcoin investor Tim Draper. Finally, Bitcoin has been announced as the main theme of the program that the government will adopt to combat the economic crisis.
Argentina has all the prerequisites to create an effective cryptocurrency ecosystem. Argentina tops the Bitcoin Market Potential Index, which assesses the likelihood of a currency being introduced into a given society.
However, it seems unlikely that the government will adopt any new Bitcoin regulations in the near future, and especially before the G20 summit in March 2018 in Argentina.
The meeting of the heads of the ministries of finance and central banks of the G20 countries may become the first platform for discussing the cryptocurrency financial market at the international level. Germany and France initiated a conversation about Bitcoin regulation at meetings of representatives of the G20 countries in Argentina. It is very difficult to predict how this attempt will end.
In any case, Argentina tends to follow European countries and the United States when it comes to regulating new areas. Therefore, serious attempts at government regulation of the cryptocurrency market in Argentina can be expected no earlier than the summer of 2018.
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