Oh boy, I was so looking forward to watching Lex Fridman’s episode with the President of Argentina, Javier Milei. A libertarian-anarcho-capitalist who’s a huge fan of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” What’s not to like about the guy who inspired 3D-printed action figures of himself on Amazon? Lex Fridman was excited as well about doing an interview “in a foreign language” (read non-English) with a president (don’t read he couldn’t get Trump): This is a first time for me doing something like this in a foreign language. It was challenging, but illuminating. Here’s a link to this episode’s transcript. After 35 minutes into the episode, I opted out not because the word “best” was used 13 times, or in “history” 17 times, or even “GREAT(EST)” 24 FRACKING TIMES (hey, who’s counting and who’s been using these words during the US Presidential campaign), but because of this dude, Javier Milei was so proud to mention: Furthermore, a recent work by an Argentinian economist named Juan Pablo Nicolini was presented at the central bank’s monetary meetings and he works at the Federal Reserve. WUT?! Juan Pablo Nicolini is a senior research economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Not just “any” FED, but the notorious MPLS FED! Yeah, these guys are well-known for their “works,” such as “Unique Implementation of Permanent Primary Deficits.” What an innocent and misleading title for a strategy that eventually boils down to “A ‘Declaration Of War’—Fed And ECB Plot To ‘Tax Or Ban’ Bitcoin And Use Price Gains To Escape $35.7 Trillion Doom Loop.” …Amol and Luttmer highlight the presence of Bitcoin, which they refer to as a “useless piece of paper” with no intrinsic value. …taxing Bitcoin or outright prohibiting its use, as Amol and Luttmer argue. …the existence of assets like Bitcoin complicates government efforts to control fiscal outcomes. …Bitcoin allows for an alternative method of wealth storage that operates independently of government fiscal policies. …this independence undermines the government’s ability to ensure fiscal stability when attempting to maintain permanent deficits. “The Largest Structural Reform in Argentine History” WITHOUT Bitcoin Argentina is not El Salvador. Javier Milei is not Nayib Bukele. “There has been a surge of misleading information regarding Javier Milei and his stance on Bitcoin. Contrary to some reports, Milei’s administration is not pushing for a bitcoin standard in Argentina.” Milei has NO INTENTION OR AMBITION to adopt Bitcoin as Argentina's official currency, which is the current situation in El Salvador. His main economic proposal has been the dollarization of the Argentine economy, not the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender​. “During the recent meeting with local regulators and the Director of the Crypto Active division from El Salvador, Bitcoin was not even mentioned.” You meet with the guys from the crypto division, who come from the first country in the world to use Bitcoin as legal tender, and you talk about anything and everything BUT Bitcoin. “Argentina, one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets, has overtaken Brazil as the top Latin American (Latam) country in terms of estimated crypto inflows by users.” BUT! Argentines buy Tether in cash and do nothing with it. That’s like telling Messi (5’7”) to forget about FIFA and try the NBA for a change. Bitcoin: Don’t Cry For Me Argentina Look, the Bitcoin situation in El Salvador is not all sunshine and rainbows; that’s a fact. But, “Bukele has credited this change to fueling the increase in tourism to El Salvador by 95%.” That’s also an undeniable fact. Better with Bitcoin than as it used to be with dollarization: “The government was unable to control monetary policy after dollarization, as the value of currency was tied to the United States Federal Reserve. The exchange rate, which was fixed at one U.S. dollar being equivalent to 8.75 colóns, decreased the purchasing power of the population. Dollarization slowed down El Salvador's exports because it could not compete against the undervalued currencies of other developing countries such as China.” Javier Milei: “We are restored freedoms to Argentinians while simultaneously implementing a structural reform eight times larger. And we accomplished this with only with 15% of the representatives, 10% of the senators, and within the first six months of government. In other words, our deregulation agenda continues daily and we still have 3,200 structural reforms pending.” Sadly, somewhere among all these thousands of pending reforms is the regulation of cryptocurrency, not just Bitcoin, usage in Argentina. Javier Milei: “This is why it’s so interesting, and I was so deeply moved when last night I also got to meet Sylvester Stallone, because Sylvester Stallone talks about, well, how important is that no matter how hard they hit you and keep on hitting you all the time, despite all that, you keep going on and on and on. What I’m trying to say is that so many of Sylvester Stallone’s approaches are truly inspirational, don’t you think? So imagine, I’m about to give the speech and I see Sylvester Stallone and Sylvester Stallone knows me. It was truly insane. I had to pinch myself. I mean this can’t be true.” Yeah, truly insane. I had to pinch myself more than once while writing this story. Bitcoin is like, this can’t be true. Oh boy, I was so looking forward to watching Lex Fridman’s episode with the President of Argentina, Javier Milei . Lex Fridman’s episode with the President of Argentina, Javier Milei A libertarian-anarcho-capitalist who’s a huge fan of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” What’s not to like about the guy who inspired 3D-printed action figures of himself on Amazon? libertarian-anarcho-capitalist Lex Fridman was excited as well about doing an interview “in a foreign language” (read non-English) with a president (don’t read he couldn’t get Trump): This is a first time for me doing something like this in a foreign language. It was challenging, but illuminating. This is a first time for me doing something like this in a foreign language. It was challenging, but illuminating. Here’s a link to this episode’s transcript . link to this episode’s transcript After 35 minutes into the episode, I opted out not because the word “best” was used 13 times, or in “history” 17 times, or even “GREAT(EST)” 24 FRACKING TIMES (hey, who’s counting and who’s been using these words during the US Presidential campaign), but because of this dude, Javier Milei was so proud to mention: “best” in “history” “GREAT(EST)” 24 FRACKING TIMES Furthermore, a recent work by an Argentinian economist named Juan Pablo Nicolini was presented at the central bank’s monetary meetings and he works at the Federal Reserve. Furthermore, a recent work by an Argentinian economist named Juan Pablo Nicolini was presented at the central bank’s monetary meetings and he works at the Federal Reserve. WUT?! WUT?! Juan Pablo Nicolini is a senior research economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Not just “any” FED, but the notorious MPLS FED! Juan Pablo Nicolini the notorious MPLS FED! Yeah, these guys are well-known for their “works,” such as “Unique Implementation of Permanent Primary Deficits.” “ Unique Implementation of Permanent Primary Deficits.” “ “ Unique Implementation of Permanent Primary Deficits.” What an innocent and misleading title for a strategy that eventually boils down to “A ‘ Declaration Of War ’—Fed And ECB Plot To ‘Tax Or Ban’ Bitcoin And Use Price Gains To Escape $35.7 Trillion Doom Loop.” Declaration Of War ‘Tax Or Ban’ Bitcoin …Amol and Luttmer highlight the presence of Bitcoin, which they refer to as a “useless piece of paper” with no intrinsic value. …Amol and Luttmer highlight the presence of Bitcoin , which they refer to as a “useless piece of paper” with no intrinsic value. the presence of Bitcoin “useless piece of paper” …taxing Bitcoin or outright prohibiting its use, as Amol and Luttmer argue. … taxing Bitcoin or outright prohibiting its use , as Amol and Luttmer argue. taxing Bitcoin or outright prohibiting its use …the existence of assets like Bitcoin complicates government efforts to control fiscal outcomes. …t he existence of assets like Bitcoin complicates government efforts to control fiscal outcomes. he existence of assets like Bitcoin complicates government efforts …Bitcoin allows for an alternative method of wealth storage that operates independently of government fiscal policies. …Bitcoin allows for an alternative method of wealth storage that operates independently of government fiscal policies. independently of government fiscal policies. …this independence undermines the government’s ability to ensure fiscal stability when attempting to maintain permanent deficits. … this independence undermines the government’s ability to ensure fiscal stability when attempting to maintain permanent deficits. this independence undermines the government’s ability to ensure fiscal stability “The Largest Structural Reform in Argentine History” WITHOUT Bitcoin “The Largest Structural Reform in Argentine History” WITHOUT Bitcoin Argentina is not El Salvador. Argentina is not El Salvador. Javier Milei is not Nayib Bukele. Javier Milei is not Nayib Bukele. “There has been a surge of misleading information regarding Javier Milei and his stance on Bitcoin . Contrary to some reports, Milei’s administration is not pushing for a bitcoin standard in Argentina .” misleading information Javier Milei and his stance on Bitcoin not pushing for a bitcoin standard in Argentina Milei has NO INTENTION OR AMBITION to adopt Bitcoin as Argentina's official currency , which is the current situation in El Salvador . NO INTENTION OR AMBITION to adopt Bitcoin as Argentina's official currency the current situation in El Salvador His main economic proposal has been the dollarization of the Argentine economy, not the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender​. His main economic proposal has been the dollarization of the Argentine economy, not the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender​. dollarization not the adoption “During the recent meeting with local regulators and the Director of the Crypto Active division from El Salvador, Bitcoin was not even mentioned. ” Bitcoin was not even mentioned. You meet with the guys from the crypto division, who come from the first country in the world to use Bitcoin as legal tender, and you talk about anything and everything BUT Bitcoin. the first country in the world to use Bitcoin legal tender, “Argentina, one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets, has overtaken Brazil as the top Latin American (Latam) country in terms of estimated crypto inflows by users.” has overtaken Brazil the top Latin American (Latam) country in terms of estimated crypto inflows BUT! BUT! Argentines buy Tether in cash and do nothing with it. Argentines buy Tether in cash and do nothing with it . buy Tether in cash do nothing with it That’s like telling Messi (5’7”) to forget about FIFA and try the NBA for a change. That’s like telling Messi (5’7”) to forget about FIFA and try the NBA for a change. Bitcoin: Don’t Cry For Me Argentina Bitcoin: Don’t Cry For Me Argentina Don’t Look, the Bitcoin situation in El Salvador is not all sunshine and rainbows; that’s a fact. But, “Bukele has credited this change to fueling the increase in tourism to El Salvador by 95%.” That’s also an undeniable fact. Better with Bitcoin than as it used to be with dollarization: “The government was unable to control monetary policy after dollarization, as the value of currency was tied to the United States Federal Reserve . The exchange rate, which was fixed at one U.S. dollar being equivalent to 8.75 colóns, decreased the purchasing power of the population . Dollarization slowed down El Salvador's exports because it could not compete against the undervalued currencies of other developing countries such as China.” Better with Bitcoin than as it used to be with dollarization: the value of currency was tied to the United States Federal Reserve decreased the purchasing power of the population slowed down El Salvador's exports Javier Milei: “We are restored freedoms to Argentinians while simultaneously implementing a structural reform eight times larger. And we accomplished this with only with 15% of the representatives, 10% of the senators, and within the first six months of government . In other words, our deregulation agenda continues daily and we still have 3,200 structural reforms pending .” Javier Milei: within the first six months of government we still have 3,200 structural reforms pending we still have 3,200 structural reforms pending Sadly, somewhere among all these thousands of pending reforms is the regulation of cryptocurrency, not just Bitcoin, usage in Argentina. Javier Milei: “This is why it’s so interesting, and I was so deeply moved when last night I also got to meet Sylvester Stallone , because Sylvester Stallone talks about, well, how important is that no matter how hard they hit you and keep on hitting you all the time, despite all that, you keep going on and on and on. What I’m trying to say is that so many of Sylvester Stallone’s approaches are truly inspirational , don’t you think? So imagine, I’m about to give the speech and I see Sylvester Stallone and Sylvester Stallone knows me . It was truly insane. I had to pinch myself . I mean this can’t be true.” so deeply moved when last night I also got to meet Sylvester Stallone I’m trying to say is that so many of Sylvester Stallone’s approaches are truly inspirational Sylvester Stallone knows me insane. I had to pinch myself Yeah, truly insane. I had to pinch myself more than once while writing this story. Bitcoin is like, this can’t be true.

The writer is smart, but don't just like, take their word for it. #DoYourOwnResearch before making any investment decisions or decisions regarding your health or security. (Do not regard any of this content as professional investment advice, or health advice)

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

Why Doesn't Argentina Follow El Salvador's Bitcoin Footsteps?

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