On Currency Implosion in Argentina:
The current president is now blaming the recent arrival of hyperinflation on his political rival, as if the rival had anything to do with the Banco Central printing the Argentinian peso into oblivion.
Peak-clown world activities.
It cannot be understated how fixated the entire country of Argentina is on the fact that hyperinflation has reached the country. Broken money literally affects everyone, there's no escaping it. More than ever Argentina needs Bitcoin.
You haven't experienced hyperinflation until you watch your local currency drop 10% against the USD in one afternoon. Holy shit, the Argentinian peso is dead.
Inflation in Argentina reached 12% in September, which still seems on the conservative side with the bureaucrats cooking the books as much as possible with the presidential election looming on the horizon.
Global bond markets are collapsing. Sounds about time for a good ol' Israel vs. Palestine conflict to turn heads. Honestly who cares who you stand with, lol.
Opt out of money that finances forever wars. Opt out of fiat. We Bitcoin so they can't finance war.
On Currency Implosion in Argentina, the Death Rattle of the Peso:
I remember when I first moved to Argentina in 2009 that the local football club, Club Atlético Talleres, was reportedly selling off air conditioning units in its stadium to keep the club afloat financially.
Well, the air conditioners are getting ripped out of empty (or occupied) apartments to keep the country afloat. The same economic circumstances that Talleres found itself in 15 years ago is the micro version of Argentina currently.
If you look at apartment buildings you can see the evidence in front of your eyes. Air conditioning units ripped out left and right, sold for cash. Where once every unit in the building most likely had AC, it's now hit or miss.
It's the small symptoms like this that reminds residents of how tough life is becoming under a failed currency. The only people who continue to transact in the Argentinian peso are doing so due to the threat of violence (read: AFIP coming after them).
If the Central Bank is eliminated, or at least the legal mandate to transact in pesos, the country would dollarize over night, regardless of political affiliation. This is why the presidency of Javier Milei is garnering so much attention: they are done living under failed currencies.
They understand the necessity to separate the money from the State. They're Bitcoiners and they don't even realize it. This is why Bitcoin Education in Argentina matters. This is why I've moved back.
Greetings from Argentina! We're nearly TWO WEEKS away from the presidential elections. Pro-Bitcoin candidate Javier Milei is still favored to win, but anything could happen. An anxious moment in the country's history, without a doubt.
Regardless, my work here in Bitcoin education will continue.
"Seamos libres; lo demás no importa nada." -José de San Martín
"Let us be free, the rest matters not." -General José de San Martín, Liberator of South America
On Currency Implosion in Argentina:
If you make the mistake of posting the price of something in terms of pesos, you've really fucked up. For example, in my temporary rental they have a sign posted, "No Smoking, fine: 1000 pesos", which I'm sure was hefty enough when that sign was posted, but now it means that the fine is worth about $1.11 USD.
Smoke 'em if you've got 'em.
The ability to mute NPCs on Nostr is priceless.
The Argentinian peso has now touched the 900:1 exchange on crypto markets. When I first lived here 14 years ago it was at 3.4:1
Power corrupts, always. This is why corrupt institutions like government need to be separated from the money.
This is why we Bitcoin.
It should be noted that Javier Milei, Argentinian presidential frontrunner did not mention dollarization once in the presidential debates on Sunday night. That is because he's simply advocating for elimination of the Central Bank and the ensuing currency competition. There's a difference between pushing for a certain solution and allowing the citizens to transact in the money they wish to use. That's what real democracy looks like. Of course dollarization is a foregone conclusion, but this allows Argentinians the freedom to be financially nimble and transact how they choose.
Will the USD be the world's last fiat global reserve currency?
Argentinian presidential candidate Sergio Massa's best solution to the crippling inflation is to create a "digital peso."
This is the definition of insanity, when you simply do the same thing over and over hoping for a different outcome.
There is evidence everywhere of the current Argentinian administration doing everything within it's power to close off its citizens from the outside financial world. Currency manipulation at its worst. Dollarization is inevitable, but this is a short-term solution. Biticoin is the endgame. Separating money from government has to happen.
Argentina is infected with Stockholm Syndrome. There millions of people who are doing everything in their power to dollarize, but still vote to re-elect corrupt politicians who are crushing attempts to opt out of the worthless peso. It's honestly fascinating to witness. The cognitive dissonance is staggering.
Day 1 back in-country in Argentina after 7 years abroad. Lots of emotions and observations arriving to a country in the midst of it's worst-ever financial crisis. Motivated AF to educate people on the separation of money from government. LFG
"Bitcoin incentivizes cooperation."
-John Dennehy on the need for Bitcoiners to support Bitcoin education
Damn, Amethyst is a fantastic client. I remember merely 6 months ago people were apologetic over usability shortfalls for both OS (Damus included). Not anymore. Congrats to the team!
I'm Moving to Argentina to Teach About Bitcoin; Let's Talk About Javier Milei
Hola, Argentinian-American here. I’m moving back to Argentina next month to work with My First Bitcoin (Mi Primer Bitcoin) to kick off community-driven Bitcoin education. Let’s talk about what’s going on in Argentina at the moment, shall we? As a disclaimer, it's important that I remain politically neutral in my role as a Bitcoin educator; this is not a pro- nor anti-Milei post.
After his surprising primary victories last week, the global media is getting Milei’s monetary policies all wrong. I’m here to set the record straight.
I’ve found recent coverage frustrating because very basic due diligence isn’t being performed by supposed journalists; a sign of the times where outlets simply regurgitate whatever’s going to get the most eyeballs on their platform as their staff simply copy and paste their way into oblivion.
What Milei is proposing (the MSM is getting this part right, truth be told) is that Argentina abolishes the BCRA (Banco Central de la República de Argentina), which will inevitably leave a void and hence kick off a competition amongst the population as to which currency will drive the economy.
He’s proposing exactly this: a “currency competition”, which will inevitably lead to dollarization. Argentina has been dollarized by default for as long as I've been alive (I'm 42). It’s been a never-ending game of hot potato with one’s pesos. You simply get rid of them ASAP. You budget what you need for the week (now it’s down to daily needs thanks to 120+% inflation), and then the rest you flip into USD for long-term holdings or you plow those pesos into hard assets. With the elimination of the Central Bank, people will be free to use whatever they wish, but the fact remains that 80% of global commerce is in USD and Argentinians have chosen the US dollar decades ago.
This is an important distinction to make: there is no coercion in Milei’s plan: he’s actually proposing the elimination of monetary coercion by the Argentinian Central Bank and returning money back to the private sector, back to open markets. Dollarization is the obvious solution to Argentina’s back room dealing with the IMF (Argentina’s responsible for 60% of the IMF’s balance sheet, in fact).
Milei has gone on the record by simply acknowledging that there is quite literally zero demand for the national currency, which fundamentally renders the Central Bank useless.
So, the narratives stating that “Milei will dollarize the country” are misleading. There’s important nuance to the matter. He simply wants to eliminate the Central Bank and leave a void for the open market to fill. Coercion simply doesn’t figure into the calculus.
Argentina will most likely end up looking similar to the mix we’re seeing in El Salvador currently: mostly digital dollar usage in the form of stable coins with early adopters saving in Bitcoin and spending on Lightning Network rails. With over $70B of actual physical dollar bills already in the country, hopefully the transition will be quick. Ecuador was able to successfully navigate a similar change in about 24 months two decades ago; with the advent of stable coins and all sorts of neobanks popping up, the liquidity of the dollar has never been higher in South America. By no means is the dollar a panacea, but it's the clear near-term choice.
OK, that’s it. It’s important that you walk away from this blip knowing that Milei's plan is to leave the country’s currency in the hands of the markets, it’s just that dollarization is a foregone conclusion.
It’s important that as a Bitcoin educator I don’t get involved in dumb fiat politics, but I wanted to clear up this issue as Milei continues to grow in global popularity.
Shameless shill: We need funding for community-driven Bitcoin education and I plan on also providing boots-on-the ground reporting from Argentina (maybe using Habla as my platform of choice?). We need funds for classrooms, printing workbooks, promotion, teacher salaries, etc. Mi Primer Bitcoin has a Geyser fund set up, not to mention you can donate directly on our site. Feel free to zap the sh*t out of this note as well!
As inflation continues to push monetary implosion in Argentina, Bitcoin education is more important than ever and I hope you’d consider partnering with me in orange-pilling a pivotal player in the peaceful monetary revolution. Saludos!
