JAN3 CEO Samson Mow suggests Argentina start the Bitcoin Bonds program to raise capital for other income-generating activities. Mow believes that Bitcoin can help Argentines beat inflation through a gradual introduction.
JAN3 CEO Samson Mow argues that Argentina should offer Bitcoin Bonds and transition to using BTC as legal currency.
Mow suggested that Argentine Bitcoin bonds could raise capital for other income-generating activities whose proceeds can be used to pay off bond coupons and buy more Bitcoin.
Mow also believes that Bitcoin could gradually be incorporated as a national currency to replace the peso, which is undergoing rapid devaluation, as a result of tangle of policies that have failed to stabilize its value. He advises making the transition from pesos to dollars, and then from dollars to Bitcoin.
He also believes that, like El Salvador, Argentines can mine Bitcoin using relatively cheap natural gas, as well as power from untapped hydroelectric sources.
So far, Mow has not engaged with Argentine leaders on the possibility of Bitcoin Bonds in the country but has played a vital role in the development of the Salvadoran Bitcoin bond issuance.
HODLing Bitcoin
Since adopting Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has faced backlash from the International Monetary Fund and ratings agency Moody’s, which said the country’s Bitcoin operations rose its risk profile.
Despite the setbacks, Bitcoin payments have gained popularity and are accepted in hotels, restaurants, pool halls, and even street vendors. A smaller seller may have Bitcoin, while larger companies use it as a marketing strategy.
Argentines, in contrast to Salvadorans, have traditionally viewed the US dollar as a safe asset over the long term. That strategy, though, was frustrated by the Argentinian government, which limits dollar purchases to $200 and charges heavy taxes on dollar-denominated transactions.
Despite its volatility, Argentines now prefer Bitcoin over the peso and the dollar. According to an August 2022 New York Times article, around a third of Argentines trade cryptocurrencies at least once a month. They find it easier to cope with the short-term volatility of Bitcoin than with the devaluation of the national currency.
BTC is not the Problem, Bitcoin Believers Say
The recent collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the criminal charges piling up against its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, have drawn attention to whether cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are a problem or whether the collapse is simply a matter of irresponsible business practices.
Bitcoin maximalists like MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor were quick to distance Bitcoin from the FTX situation, arguing that, unlike most cryptocurrencies on exchanges, Bitcoin is a commodity rather than a security.
In a CNBC interview on November 17, 2022, Strike CEO Jack Mallers said that the FTX saga was “nothing but an absolutely disgusting and malicious crime.”
By Audy Castaneda
