The Argentine Congress approved a loan agreement from the International Monetary Fund that counts on a provision that intends to discourage the relevance of crypto assets in the nations.
The Senate of the Argentine Republic approved a loan agreement to refinance the debt of USD 45 billion with the International Monetary Fund, which directly connects to an agreement that includes a provision that discourages the use of digital assets in the nation.
This event has particular importance in the country because Argentina is one of the Latin American nations with the highest crypto adoption among its citizens.
The loan agreement, which also received approval from the Chamber of Deputies on March 11, will help re-build a debt program of the previous government for USD 57 billion that the country obtained in 2018.
Discouraging Crypto-Assets
The crypto clause got included in a 34-page letter of intent signed by Argentina and the IMF, which the IMF’s board must now approve.
One of the fragments in the letter says the nation is taking crucial steps to discourage using digital assets to prevent money laundering and disintermediation.
The letter also highlights that as long as commercial banks keep their liquidity untouched and well-capitalized, strong banking regulations will continue, especially after pandemic-related regulatory leniency gets solved.
Argentina also intends to continue its payment digitization process bringing more efficiency and costs of payment systems and cash management.
According to El País, the Argentine Congress approved the agreement with the IMF with a considerable predominance. The negative vote was from 13 pro-government senators. But this agreement is also fundamental: it sets a completion over the rupture between President Alberto Fernández and his vice president, Cristina Kirchner, who stood against this decision to pay the previous debt with more debt.
Argentina and its Relationship with Crypto Assets
The Latin American nation, which posted 52.3% year-on-year inflation in February, has become one of the area’s top South American crypto hubs.
On the other hand, other procedures that affect the crypto ecosystem in the country got revealed. According to national media reports, Argentina’s Financial Information Unit (UIF) intends to include companies in the digital asset industry in the list of entities subject to anti-money laundering reporting requirements.
Earlier, in February, the Argentine Secretary of Energy raised the cost of energy for Bitcoin miners. In addition, the Minister of Economy said that more taxes should get applied to operations with cryptocurrencies.
The Argentine Secretary of Energy has suspended energy subsidies for cryptocurrency miners, raising the cost of energy to almost four times what miners paid before.
The measure harmed customers of the energy market in the province of Tierra del Fuego, in the southern side of the country, one of the most prominent mining areas in the nation due to its specific climatic features, including the cold environment.
By: Jenson Nuñez
