The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has jumped to a fresh high in Argentina since the news that Bitcoin-friendly presidential candidate Javier Milei won a primary election on Aug. 13, with 1 BTC reaching a value of 10 million Argentine pesos (ARS) on Aug. 14, according to data from CoinGecko.
In Argentina, Bitcoin has seen a sharp climb this week, with BTC rallying 21% from 8.4 million ARS to 10.2 million ARS in less than one hour on Monday.
While the 10 million pesos mark is widely seen as the “official” Bitcoin’s value, the Argentine parallel market, sometimes referred to as the “real value” market, is even higher than that.
According to the local cryptocurrency data source CoinMonitor Argentina, the price of Bitcoin surged to as high as 20.3 million ARS per coin on Aug. 16. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at the average of 19.3 million ARS, according to CoinMonitor data, while CoinGecko suggests that its “official” value is just 9.2 million ARS.
The latest Bitcoin price gains in Argentina build on significant previous growth versus the Argentine peso amid the ongoing massive inflation and devaluation of the local fiat currency.
The monthly inflation rate in Argentina surged to 6.3% in July, while Argentina’s central bank devalued ARS by to about 18% in the aftermath of Sunday’s primaries. According to local sources, the central bank devalued ARS’ official exchange rate by as much as 22% and plans to keep the rate fixed at $350 until presidential elections in October.
Amid the prolonged inflation and currency devaluation, Bitcoin has been steadily gaining value against ARS since late 2022. According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin has surged more than 210% versus the Argentine peso since Aug. 17, 2022.
The most recent Bitcoin rally in Argentina came amid the presidential primary win by pro-Bitcoin presidential candidate Milei. After winning the primary with more than 30% of votes, Milei is now the front-runner in Argentina’s general election in October.
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As previously reported, Milei wants to abolish the central bank and adopt the United States dollar as Argentina’s currency. The presidential candidate also believes that Bitcoin is a reaction against “central bank scammers,” while fiat currency allows politicians to scam Argentines with inflation.
While Bitcoin has been at its record highs in Argentina recently, the cryptocurrency has been on the decline in global markets.
Since Aug. 14, Bitcoin has lost 3.7% of its value versus the U.S. dollar, dropping below the psychological mark of $29,000 on Aug. 16, according to CoinGecko. The cryptocurrency has been gradually tumbling over the past 30 days, dropping nearly 5% over the period at the time of writing.
Argentina is not the only country that has seen Bitcoin’s price at its highest historic levels amid massive inflation recently. Bitcoin has also been trading near all-time high levels in countries such as Turkey, which reportedly saw its inflation rate rising to nearly 50% in July 2023.
In July, Bitcoin climbed to the highest level versus the Turkish lira, reaching a value of 819,000 TRY per 1 BTC, according to data from CoinGecko.
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