Bitcoin
The bitcoin price has crashed back from its all-time high of almost $70,000 per bitcoin but it's currently trading at $37,000 per bitcoin—almost exactly where it was when El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele announced the country would adopt bitcoin as legal tender in June 2021.
Now, as the bitcoin and crypto market braces for a $48 trillion earthquake, the victory of outspoken libertarian Javier Milei in Argentina's presidential election has sparked wild speculation the country could follow in El Salvador's footsteps, "supercharging" bitcoin.
Bitcoin's historical halving that's expected to cause crypto price chaos is just around the corner! Sign up now for the free CryptoCodex—A daily newsletter for traders, investors and the crypto-curious that will keep you ahead of the market
Javier Milei, an outspoken critic of central banks and supporter of bitcoin, won Argentina's ... [+]
"[It] could be sooner than you think," Samson Mow, chief executive of bitcoin technology company Jan3 and an advisor to El Salvador during its adoption of bitcoin, posted to X, adding: "Another nation-state" will be adopting bitcoin "very soon." Mow has previously said Mexico is "on the list" of countries that could adopt bitcoin.
Bitcoin developer and the chief technology officer of wallet app Casa, Jameson Lopp, asked via X: "Is this the next domino to fall for nation-state adoption of bitcoin?"
The bitcoin price jumped following Milei's victory, climbing to its highest level since May 2022.
Milei, who has promised to "blow up" the country's political establishment, disband Argentina's central bank and dollarize the economy in the face of catastrophic hyperinflation, said earlier this year that bitcoin represents the "return of money to its original creator, the private sector."
Sign up now for CryptoCodex—A free, daily newsletter for the crypto-curious
The bitcoin price has bounced back this year.
Milei "could pave the way for greater acceptance and integration of cryptocurrencies in Argentina's economy, offering a potential solution to the long-standing issues of inflation and financial instability," researchers with bitcoin and crypto asset manager Grayscale wrote in a note, adding he "sees bitcoin as a crucial tool in countering the inefficiencies and corruptions of centralized financial systems" and a "viable alternative to traditional economic structures."
Other bitcoin and crypto watchers predicted Milei's election will be "positive" for the bitcoin price and could "supercharge" adoption.
"Bitcoin and crypto were already solving a problem for Argentinians, but Milei's presidency could supercharge their usage and relevance for Argentina," Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, cofounder of the crypto firm Ledn, told The Block.
"Milei plans to dollarize the Argentine economy by killing the Peso and shutting down the Argentine Central Bank. He also plans to get rid of 'legal tender' laws, meaning that Argentinians will be able to freely pick whichever currency (or digital asset) they want to deal in for their everyday use."
"Milei's win is a positive factor for the bitcoin price in the long run," Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at YouHodler, told The Block.
