Argentine Peso Versus Bitcoin

On the 27th of May, the largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin is reportedly at an all-time high versus the Argentine peso in the middle of the ongoing decline of the currency. The price of Bitcoin has risen to as high as 394,000 pesos ($8,762.95 at press time) per coin, exceeding the prices versus the Argentine peso which has not been seen since the bubble in the year 2017.

The U.S dollar has seen massive growth over the Argentine peso during the past year, the lows in the value of the Argentine peso are reportedly caused by uncertainties in the upcoming presidential election.

Despite the recent attempts made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support the Argentine economy, with the country’s central bank allowing the use of IMF funds to aid with the depreciating peso, analysts are showing concerns that the program could fail if the presidential election is won by the populist opposition.

Though the current president Mauricio Macri has the full support of the investors, the opposition – in which former leftist president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is running as a deputy to presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez – reportedly introduced a “democracy discount” to the peso.

The Argentine peso dropped once again in April 2019 against the dollar, following a loss of more than half of its value in 2018, when both the Turkish lira and peso dropped in the middle of investor expectations of rising U.S rates.

The president of Argentina was advised by venture capital billionaire Tim Draper to legalize bitcoin in order to improve the economic situation in the country.