Argentina to Collaborate With El Salvador in Adopting Bitcoin: Report

Argentinian authorities are looking to work with officials in the Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador to enhance their adoption of the leading digital asset.

According to an official report from the Argentinian National Securities Commission (CNV), the agency’s president and vice president, Roberto Silva and Patricia Boedo, held a meeting with Juan Reyes, the president of El Salvador’s National Digital Assets Commission (CNAD), last week to discuss the Central American country’s experience in adopting Bitcoin.

Argentina Taps El Salvador for BTC Adoption Strategy

The report revealed that Silva and Boedo talked about the growing use of cryptocurrencies in global economies, exchanging concepts with Reyes about El Salvador’s journey so far.

“El Salvador has emerged as one of the leading countries, not only in the use of bitcoin, but has also stood out in the world of crypto assets…We want to strengthen ties with the Republic of El Salvador and therefore, we are going to explore the possibility of signing collaboration agreements with them, said Silva.

Recall that El Salvador was the first country to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. Over the years, the country has unveiled several Bitcoin-related projects, including Bitcoin bonds, volcano-powered Bitcoin mining, and a citizenship-by-Bitcoin-investment program, and embraced a strategy that allows it to accumulate and hold the asset. As of mid-May, the country had mined 474 BTC using volcanic energy and held over 5,750 BTC.

El Salvador created the CNAD specifically for overseeing and enhancing its crypto operations and Argentina is looking to follow the same path.

The CNV vice president, Boedo, backed Silva’s remarks, saying: “I had the opportunity to exchange experiences during the visit to that country, and it seems essential to me to continue strengthening ties with a Republic that is a pioneer in the subject, and that has vast experience in the subject.”

Embracing Bitcoin

Argentina, on its part, is becoming more Bitcoin-friendly as the years go by. In November, Bitcoin proponent and far-right libertarian, Javier Milei, emerged victorious in Argentina’s presidential run-off. Milei’s win sparked hope for the country, which was in an economic mess and battling high inflation.

A month later, Argentina’s minister of foreign affairs legalized the use of Bitcoin in settling legally binding contracts and making payments within the country. In addition, Argentina recently unveiled the Registry of Virtual Asset Service Providers, a regulatory body solely for the local crypto sector.