The first cryptocurrency could help amid the economic crisis that the country is undergoing. Foreign exchange restrictions limit the free convertibility between the Argentine peso (ARS) and the US dollar (USD).
The economically active population and retirees in Argentina will receive the first 50% of the Supplementary Annual Salary (SAC) or bonus. This is a benefit that gives workers “extra” funds in two installments and times of the year, which could represent an opportunity to use Bitcoin (BTC) in the face of devaluation.
The first payment occurs on the last day of June with an extension of four business days. The procedure for calculating the number of pesos (ARS) to pay by way of bonus is as follows.
The first half of the benefit considers the highest monthly salary that the worker earned in the first half of the year. For example, if the employee’s best salary in this period was ARS 50,000, the bonus that he will receive in the days to come will be 50% of that amount, that is, ARS 25,000.
The calculation is similar for the second half of the year, considering the best salary between July and the last month of the year. In this case, payment occurs around December 18th.
Argentine Economic Crisis
As in recent years, the payment of the bonus in Argentina will occur amid an economic crisis. The devaluation of the Argentine peso and inflation of around 43% in the last 12 months have conditioned this crisis. Both factors could open the doors to Bitcoin as an alternative for Argentines to maintain the value of the funds that they receive.
Argentine tax consultant Marcos Zocaro highlighted that an increasing number of people see Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, as an option to safeguard the value of their funds.
Although Argentina is in a difficult scenario and many people need to settle debts or face the situation, there are also many citizens with savings capacity. Zocaro noted that a percentage of those people wait for the bonus and “dollarize” it by buying crypto-assets such as Bitcoin.
The specialist added that Argentines are approaching other assets, such as cryptocurrencies, due to foreign exchange restrictions. Zocaro considers that the first option is Bitcoin, but some people prefer acquiring DAI. This stablecoin offers them an implicit exchange rate higher than the official one, but similar to that of the “blue” or parallel dollar.
Considering foreign exchange restrictions, inflation, and the devaluation of the Argentine peso, there would be conditions for the increase in the acquisition of Bitcoin in the bonus season.
In Argentina there are at least 12 services, brokers or exchanges established for the purchase of Bitcoin. These are Buenbit.com, LocalBitcoins, Bitso, Crypto Facil, Qubit, CryptoMKT, Ripio, ArgenBTC, Bitex, Lemon Cash, Satoshi Tango, and Athena ATMs.
For example, some websites show the trading price on each exchange and an average cost of 1 BTC in Argentine pesos. In the case of buying Bitcoin, the prices appear in increasing order starting with the lowest price. Concerning, the first trading price that appears is the one offering the most pesos.
By Willmen Blanco
