The devaluation of the Argentine national currency increases the price of BTC in exchange houses.
The devaluation of the Argentine peso, due to the political situation that the country faced and the Covid-19 outbreak, has affected the price of Bitcoin in that country. The Argentine peso has fallen compared with the US dollar. This is the reason why, the price of BTC is around 900,000 Argentine pesos in different exchange houses.
This figure is unprecedented in the country. The price of BTC approaches to one million Argentine pesos per unit. Currently, the price of Bitcoin is between 863,000 and 904,000 Argentine pesos, with an average for the sale of 877,644 ARS and 834,862 ARS for the purchase, according to figures from the service coinmonitor.info.
Due to this new depreciation of the Argentine peso against the US dollar, several cryptocurrencies have appreciated up to 15% in the Argentine market. This includes the main cryptocurrency, which is Bitcoin, and the main altcoins.
On the other hand, the volume of Bitcoin traded until this April 24th amounted to USD 43,700,000. This amount represents more than 28 % of the total volume transacted in the cryptocurrency market.
Dollar Types in Argentina
Argentines currently handle different dollar rates. Among the different types of dollars in the Argentine market is the “Bitcoin Dollar”, which is quoted at 112 pesos. However, the “Bitcoin Dollar” is below the so-called “Blue Dollar” (parallel dollar), which is the unofficial price of the dollar in Argentina.
This “Blue Dollar” was trading on Friday, April 24th at 120 Argentine pesos per dollar, a price that makes the currency more expensive.
Evidence of Increase
During the week of April 4th, traders sold 67 BTC for 38,906,745 million pesos. Meanwhile, two weeks later, on April 18th, users sold 66 BTC (almost the same amount) for a total of 46,899,002 Argentine pesos.
That is, between the last and the first week of April, when users practically sold the same amount of bitcoins, there is a difference of almost 8 million Argentine pesos.
BTC Rises in Dollars
It is important to note that the price of BTC in dollars has also increased in the last three weeks. BTC price went from USD 6,700 per unit to USD 7,522 per unit. This increase is evident in the final price in pesos.
The depreciation of the Argentine peso against the dollar causes digital assets to appreciate in the local market. This occurs because the market adjusts internationally referenced assets that are quoted in dollars.
For now, the community has to wait if crypto buyers in Argentina exert any kind of pressure to stop the rise in prices in local currency.
A similar scenario occurs in Venezuela. In this country, which is facing an economic crisis, the BTC traded above 1 billion bolivars per unit on LocalBitcoins.
The increase in Venezuela has not stopped. Last Friday 24th, the price exceeded 1,370 million bolivars, since the parallel dollar has a price of 200,000 bolivars.
The BTC halving is just a few weeks away. That day, the issuance of the main cryptocurrency will go from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC for each block mined. Analysts consider that this event could further increase the price of BTC, as long as there is a demand to support the price.
By María Rodríguez
