Sergio Massa, a presidential candidate in Argentina, has proposed launching a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) if elected in order to combat the country’s long-standing inflation crisis. During a recent debate on October 2nd, Massa declared: “I am certain that inflation is a massive obstacle in Argentina, and we are going to launch a digital currency to address this. We will make it available to everyone in Argentina, and will introduce an anti-laundering law to encourage those with money abroad to bring it into the country without being taxed.”
Massa, who currently serves as the Minister of Economy, rejected the idea of Argentina transitioning to the US Dollar, stating: “Be patriotic and protect our currency, do not promote its use”.
Argentina’s general election is set to take place on October 22nd, with the latest polls suggesting Massa is slightly behind Javier Milei, another presidential candidate who won the primary election in August. Milei is a strong supporter of Bitcoin and a critic of central banking, and his campaign pledges include getting rid of the country’s central bank. He has previously referred to Bitcoin as a response to “central bank scammers” and that the Argentine peso enables politicians to scam citizens through inflation.
Meanwhile, Patricia Bullrich, the third-leading candidate, has proposed having the Argentine Peso and US Dollar co-exist as legal tender should she be elected. The Argentine Peso has depreciated massively against the US Dollar since December 2023, and current data shows that Argentina has the third-highest inflation rate in the world, after Venezuela and Lebanon.
