Central Bank of Argentina to introduce ‘digital peso’ bill ‘as soon as possible’

After a series of remarks about the potential benefits of central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the national economy, the Central Bank of Argentina said it has accelerated its work on the legislation to implement the CBDC workflow in the country. 

On Oct. 18, during a public discussion on the Filo News channel, Argentina Central Bank director Juan Agustín D’Attellis Noguera revealed that the BCRA is working on the legislative framework for the “digital peso,” a CBDC project, recently proposed by the Minister of Economy and presidential candidate Sergio Massa.

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According to D’Attellis, the project will be presented “as soon as possible” and then introduced to the national Congress. The official hailed Massa’s approach to CBDC and implicitly criticized the position of another presidential candidate, Bitcoin-friendly Javier Milei, who has been publicly proclaiming the “dollarization” of the Argentine economy.

It is not the first time D’Attellis has stepped in to defend the idea of CBDC. In early October, he expressed his belief that the “digital peso” could help stabilize the Argentine economy as soon as 2024. In the official’s opinion, the key feature of the CBDC is its traceability, which would allow the government to collect taxes.

On Oct. 2, Massa committed to introduce a digital peso should he win the election, aiming to address Argentina’s enduring inflation issue. As per the latest election polls, Massa is marginally behind Javier Milei, who advocates for adopting the U.S. dollar as Argentina’s official currency while opposing the central bank’s role.

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