Javier Milei, who is known for his favourable stance on Bitcoin, emerged as the winner in Argentina’s presidential run-off election on November 19th. With nearly 99% of the ballots tallied, Milei gained more than 55% of the votes, leading to a 3 million vote advantage, according to Bloomberg data. Sergio Massa, the country’s former minister of economy, conceded when over 90% of the votes were counted, prior to the official results being announced. Milei will assume office on December 10th.
Argentina has been facing an inflation crisis, with the Argentine peso experiencing an annual inflation rate of 140% in the last 12 months. Milei has been vocal about his criticism of the country’s central bank, calling it a “scam” and characterising it as a “mechanism through which politicians deceive the public with inflationary taxation”. He has advocated for Bitcoin as a way of “returning money to its original creator, the private sector”.
On the other hand, Massa’s views on money, banking and cryptocurrencies are in stark contrast to Milei’s. Massa had promised to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) if elected, saying it would help resolve the inflation crisis. However, despite securing victory in the initial round of the presidential elections in October, he was unable to gain the presidency outright, necessitating a run-off vote. In August, Milei had previously won the primary election, beating Massa and other contenders.
