Almost everyone agrees that you need to put some money aside for a rainy day. Nevertheless, opinions are widely divided on the safe currency for savings. For nearly 60% of Argentines, bitcoin (BTC) is the best choice, far ahead of fiat currency. Indeed, the peso, the country’s official currency, only gets 33% of favorable opinions.
Argentines believe in bitcoin more than in fiat
As inflation sinks the Argentine peso, a significant portion of the country’s population believes that bitcoin is a better store of value. More and more Argentines believe that, to keep their savings safe, Nakamoto’s invention is far better than their national currency.
This trend was confirmed by a survey by Morning Consult, a company specializing in strengthening the leadership of world leaders. According to the study, many Argentines see bitcoin as a safe haven asset to protect themselves from peso inflation and the economic crisis that is hitting the country.
Thus, no less than 60% of Argentines believe that saving in bitcoin would retain its value over two years, while only 33% believe that the peso would retain its value better over the same period.
These statistics clearly reflect the low level of confidence in the peso, whose value continues to fall, leading to a surge in prices in the country. To make matters worse, the country’s central bank is printing more money to make up for the lack of money. This only pushes inflation even higher.
Marcos Buscaglia, a leading economist in the capital Buenos Aires, said:
Money here is like ice… If you keep a peso too long, it melts.
Marcos Buscaglia, renowned economist from Buenos Aires
Safe haven currency moves from dollar to Bitcoin in Argentina
For several years, Argentines have been in the habit of saving in U.S. dollars as a hedge against the peso’s decline. But in the face of rampant inflation around the world, Argentines’ choice seems to be much more geared towards bitcoin at the expense of the U.S. currency. One reason for this is that bitcoin is now more accessible than the US dollar in Argentina.
This is because the Argentine government has made it more difficult to buy foreign currency in recent years. Argentines can only legally buy $200 per month. They must also pay heavy taxes on each transaction.
Such restrictions are difficult to impose on Bitcoin users. Bitcoin is attracting interest around the world, including in the most feared dictatorships, because of its strong resistance to censorship.
The Gold Rush 2.0 in Argentina is clearly visible. This is good news for industry giants like Binance, which recently formed a major partnership in the country to make digital assets more accessible.
Despite the market turmoil, crypto-currencies remain in high demand in Argentina where Bitcoin is seen as a bulwark against the peso’s collapse. “Beat inflation. Buy bitcoins.” These calls now fill several murals in many public spaces across the country. In Argentina, the queen of cryptocurrencies is most likely succeeding in fulfilling one of the functions for which it was created: to shelter its users from the consequences of unlimited money printing.
I dream of a world where every citizen has total control over themselves, including their finances. I believe that Bitcoin is one of the tools that will achieve this revolution. Since 2019, I am learning about this cryptocurrency and spreading the word around.
