The Argentine government has taken the first steps in launching its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). A new decree numbered 207/2022 gives new powers to the Argentine Mint to participate in the research, development and issuance of digital currencies. This puts Argentina on a par with countries such as Brazil and Mexico, which are already involved in the development of their digital currencies.
Argentina is preparing the field for a CBDC
The Argentine government is preparing the legal field for the future issuance of the central bank’s own digital currency, the digital peso. In a decree approved and published on April 26, numbered 207/2022, the Argentine government changed the functions and powers of the national mint, giving it new responsibilities and capabilities.
Among these new functions, the decree included the capture and digital processing of data, images, codes, sounds and microchips, software design and development, digital security, tele-processing of information, printing and/or recording of databases.
While the national mint just had the authority to print the national currency, the new ordinance justifies this change by stating that:
The current development of the digital environment in terms of transactions and payments artificial intelligence and digital management systems, as well as the emergence and proliferation of blockchain technology, cryptographic technologies, and assets, justify updating the scope of the national mint.”
For Rosendo Gravanago, legal counsel for crypto-assets, this is a clear step toward the release of the CBDC. He stated:
This gives us a sense that Argentina is trying to get into the CBDC trend, a trend that embraces centralized electronic fiduciary money.
The Argentine National Exchange and Payment Platform
In addition, there are other modifications to the original purpose of the organization that hint at the future creation of a national exchange with payment processing capabilities. In this sense, the decree allows the national mint to manage and execute payments and/or collections on behalf of third parties through electronic devices, transactional platforms, or any other means.
Gravanago told local media that:
This ruling gives the national mint the authority to create a kind of central exchange.
These changes put Argentina in the panorama of the CBDC in Latam, behind countries such as Brazil and Mexico, which are already engaged in research and development related to the future issuance of their digital currencies.
What do you think about the measures that the Argentine government is taking with regard to the possible issuance of the digital peso?
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