Argentina elects pro-Bitcoin president Javier Milei

Milei has been an outspoken critic of Argentina’s central bank and a vocal supporter of Bitcoin and crypto

article-image

Facundo Florit/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

A runoff election in Argentina, Sunday, resulted in a win for Javier Milei, a libertarian on the political right who wants to dollarize the country’s economy and has expressed support for Bitcoin.

Milei won about 56% of the vote versus just over 44% in the runoff, in Latin America’s third most populous nation.

In a country which has recently witnessed triple-digit rates of inflation, Milei sees bitcoin and digital currencies as an effort to “return money to its original creator: the private sector.”

Loading Tweet..

Emphasizing Bitcoin’s finite supply, he regards it as a more secure alternative to traditional mediums like gold or silver​​​​.

Milei, known for his anti-central banking stance, has criticized the central bank for “cheating good people” through inflationary tax. He claimed that he would “blow it up,” calling it a scam, even releasing a cinematic political ad in 2021 while running for a seat in parliament, in which he’s seen destroying a model representing the central bank with a Thor-like hammer.

Loading Tweet..
The ad, surfaced recently, was produced in 2021.

His criticism is particularly poignant given Argentina’s high inflation rates, which reached 135% in 2023​​. The peso has fallen in value, resulting in all-time highs for bitcoin (BTC), currently about ARS 13.2 million per BTC.

Milei has been involved in controversies, including being sued for allegedly promoting a Ponzi scheme called Coinx in Argentina. He denied any misconduct, comparing the company’s actions to those of a typical bank​​.

Despite his support for cryptocurrencies, Milei has not proposed making bitcoin legal tender in Argentina, as it is in El Salvador. Instead, he has called for dollarizing the Argentine economy, as a way of dealing with the country’s rampant inflation​​​​​​ problem.

While Milei’s views on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies reflect a strong preference for private sector-controlled money, and a skepticism towards central banking, it’s unclear what a Milei administration will mean in practice when it comes to integrating crypto into national economic policies.

Updated November 20, 2023 at 8:35 am ET, clarifying Milei’s anti-central bank political ad was from 2021.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The goal, per Santiago Santos, is to make crypto a relatable piece of tech for people who may not even understand it

article-image

Stripe stablecoin unit aims to operate under a federal charter enabling regulated stablecoin issuance and custody services

by Blockworks /
article-image

Will TradFi make crypto better or create more problems than it solves?

article-image

Subtle decisions by risk curators saved Aave from significant turmoil

article-image

The new Rootstock Institutional unit aims to connect professional investors to Bitcoin-native yield and liquidity strategies anchored in BTC’s security layer

by Blockworks /
article-image

DOJ files record civil forfeiture against more than 127,000 BTC linked to scam activity

by Blockworks /