Argentina’s new government has endorsed the use of Bitcoin for contractual agreement. The announcement was made by the country’s foreign minister Minister of Foreign Affairs, Diana Mondino, on X (formerly known as Twitter). In her post, Ms Mondino also outlined the government’s willingness to accept and formalise contracts denominated in the cryptocurrency. This comes a day after Javier Milei, Argentina’s President, unveiled a series of measures to deregulate the country’s struggling economy. These include eliminating or changing more than 300 rules via presidential decree, including on rent and labour practices.

In her post on Thursday, Ms Mondino said, “We ratify and confirm that in Argentina contracts can be agreed in Bitcoin. And also any other crypto and/or species such as kilos of steer or litres of milk.”

Ratificamos y confirmamos que en Argentina se podrán pactar contratos en Bitcoin.

— Diana Mondino (@DianaMondino) December 21, 2023

“Art 766. – Obligation of the debtor. The debtor must deliver the corresponding amount of the designated currency, whether the currency is legal tender in the Republic or not,” she added.

Mr Milei, while campaigning for the presidential election, had made very positive comments about Bitcoin.

“The central bank is a scam, a mechanism by which politicians cheat the good people with inflationary tax,” he had said, adding that Bitcoin “represents the return of money to its original creator, the private sector”, and that “it prevents politicians from robbing you through inflation”.

Though the fine details about implementation and legal nuances have not been outlined by Ms Mondino, her announcement marks a crucial step towards legitimising Bitcoin as a recognised means of conducting formal agreements.

Latin America’s third-biggest economy is on its knees after decades of debt and financial mismanagement, with inflation surpassing 160 per cent year-on-year and 40 per cent of Argentines living in poverty.