Javier Milei Wins Argentine Presidency; Bitcoin Gains Nearly 3%

The next president of Argentina will be Javier Milei as his opponent Sergio Massa conceded on Sunday evening, saying “Argentines chose another path.”

With roughly 87% of the votes counted, Milei has 56% of the tally versus Massa’s 44%, according to Bloomberg.

Trading quietly through most of the weekend, bitcoin (BTC) began rising late Sunday afternoon on chatter about a strong showing for Milei. Following Massa’s concession, the crypto currently is higher by nearly 3% over the past 24 hours to $37,350.

“We have to understand that the central bank is a scam,” said Milei earlier this year when asked about bitcoin. “What bitcoin is representing,” he continued, “is the return of money to its original create, the private sector.”

Milei to this point, however, has not gone as far as proposing making bitcoin legal tender. He’s instead proposing to eliminate the country’s central bank and dollarizing an Argentine economy that’s been walloped by inflation that reached 142% in October.