Bitcoin Price Skyrockets In Argentina After The Pro-Crypto Presidential Candidate Victory

JAKARTA - Bitcoin (BTC) prices jumped significantly in Argentina after a presidential candidate supporting Bitcoin won the country's general election.

As a result, the price of Bitcoin there reached a new level in its history against Argentine pesos. The value of BTC trading is at $10,258,244.60 ARS, an increase of 21% in the last 5 days.

Bitcoin has shown excellent performance in comparison with pesos in recent times, especially given the increasingly high rate of inflation in the celebrity currency of the Argentina.

Last month, the annual inflation rate in Argentina jumped to 115%, an increase from 98% in January. Meanwhile, the value of Bitcoin (BTC) in US dollars has risen by 76% in the one-year period. However, against Argentine pesos, the increase in Bitcoin value reached 249% over the same period.

The surge in value comes after the general election at the end of last week in which Javier Milei, leader of the La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Progress) party, won more than 30% of the vote.

Milei, known as a cryptocurrency critic, is committed to eliminating Argentina's central bank and replacing peso with dollars. He is also trying to solve the inflation problem in his country by using Bitcoin. This decision has the support of its supporters as Bitcoin is considered a potential hedge against inflation, thanks to its limited supply of only 21 million coins.

"Bitcoin represents returning the currency to its original creator: the private sector," Milei said in a previous interview. "Bitcoin has an algorithm that will limit its supply at some point, making it competitive with other currencies," he added.

Argentina is currently listed as one of the top 20 countries in terms of cryptocurrency adoption worldwide, based on data from Statista and Chainalysis.

However, shortly after Milei's surprise victory on Sunday, the Argentine government decided to devaluate the peso by 20% on Monday - a figure comparable to the Bitcoin increase in pesos since then. This pesos devaluation has had a bad impact on locals, who are directly feeling the erosion of their purchasing power of savings.

Regarding Milei's possibility of becoming President after the October election, steps to replace peso as a whole still require Congressional approval. Alternatively, he launched a possible referendum or "non-binding vote" in this matter, but still need the support of lawmakers to effectively change the currency.