Argentina VP Victoria Villaruel Discusses El Salvador’s Bitcoin Bonds With President Nayib Bukele

Key Takeaways

• El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is currently on an official visit to Argentina.
• Argentina’s VP met with President Bukele and showed keen interest in the country’s volcano bond project.
• Argentina’s new President won the general election with Bitcoin as the key economic focus of his campaign.

El Salvador, a small nation that made history by adopting Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, is now being closely watched by its neighbors, particularly Argentina.

On Tuesday, Oct. 1, Argentine Vice President Victoria Villaruel met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to discuss the country’s Bitcoin volcano bonds , sparking curiosity about Argentina’s potential entry into the crypto industry.

Argentine VP Shows Interest

During El Salvador President Bukele’s official visit to Argentina, Vice President Villaruel showed keen interest in El Salvador’s Bitcoin initiatives.

Villaruel posted a photo of the meeting on her social media account, X, along with a brief caption indicating that she had discussed Bitcoin and the volcano bond project with President Bukele.

In a translated excerpt from the interview, Villaruel was quoted as saying,

“I want to take this short opportunity to ask you about Bitcoin and the volcano bond project. Bitcoin has always interested me, and I wanted to know how the project works.”

President Bukele was enthusiastic and happy to explain the nuances of El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment, smiling broadly as he began to elaborate. Unfortunately, the video cuts off before he can delve deeper into the details.

El Salvador’s Volcano Bonds

Volcano bonds are the centerpiece of El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategy. It is an ambitious plan to raise $1 billion by establishing a Bitcoin city powered by volcanic energy.

The project, first announced in 2021 and approved by the country’s securities regulator in December 2023, aims to use profits from BTC mining to fund public infrastructure.

Although the volcano bond project has yet to materialize, with President Bukele’s initial promise to launch it in the first quarter of 2024 still unfulfilled, El Salvador’s experiment remains a hopeful hope for crypto adoption in the region.

Despite some setbacks, including President Bukele’s recent admission that Bitcoin usage has not progressed as expected, Argentina is likely looking at El Salvador’s success as a model for its own economic revitalization.

Can Argentina Follow in El Salvador’s Footsteps?

Like many other neighboring countries in South America, Argentina is grappling with high inflation and economic instability, which is why its leaders may be drawn to the promise of crypto to stabilize its currency and attract foreign investment.

The current Argentine President, Javier Milei, won elections on promises to end central bank governance and help Argentina improve its financial position with Bitcoin adoption.

However, three months after being elected President, Milei has yet to utter a word on his Bitcoin plans. The country’s economic conditions have worsened due to joblessness, and there has been a growing demand for Bitcoin adoption, similar to El Salvador.

While Argentina may be considering following in El Salvador’s footsteps, it is essential to note that the two countries are quite different in their geography and economy.

What works for one may not work for another. Making BTC legal tender might not be the best choice given its price volatility and the regressiveness of world organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) toward the still-nascent asset class.

Still, Argentina’s interest in El Salvador’s Bitcoin initiatives marks a promising step forward and could soon translate into a tangible opportunity for the country to harness the potential of crypto and drive economic growth.