Argentina’s Dep. Finance Minister: Crypto Adoption Could Reduce Demand for US Dollar

Huobi Group CEO Leon Li met with senior Argentinian finance officials this week to discuss the role of blockchain and crypto in the country’s economy, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on March 29.

In a meeting in Beijing, Argentina’s Deputy Minister of Finance, Felix Martin Soto, claimed that the government should address crypto and blockchain tech as a way to promote Argentina’s financial inclusion and reduce state costs.

Soto, who leads Argentina’s international financial relations, explained that half of the country’s population does not have bank accounts and operate cash transactions by converting their savings to United States dollars.

Soto stated that he believes that promoting crypto industry in the country will help to reduce its demand for USD, which will eventually contribute to stabilizing the local market and attracting global investment.

In a delegation meeting that also included Argentina’s Director-General of the Bilateral External Finance Bureau, Javier Matias Mana, the parties also discussed a potential expansion of Chinese exchange Huobi to Argentina. Soto elaborated:

“We would like to learn how to participate in cryptocurrency and blockchain industry from Huobi. [...] Through tokenization on Huobi’s platform, for example, Argentina’s plentiful agricultural, mineral and energy resources could be well financed by global investors.”

The finance official concluded that "[w]ith Huobi's expertise in blockchain and cryptocurrency, Argentina can accelerate its pace to digital assets era."

The news has followed a recent meeting between Argentina’s president, Mauricio Macri, and crypto investor and entrepreneur Tim Draper.  The notorious crypto bull told the president that the legalization of Bitcoin (BTC) would improve the economic situation in the country. According to Draper, crypto and blockchain adoption in the country can disrupt major problems in Argentina's economy, including the devaluation of the Argentine peso and the associated brain drain.

Founded in China in 2013, Huobi is a major global crypto exchange, currently ranked 12th largest globally by adjusted daily trading volume. Despite a massive bear market in 2018, the exchange recently reported a 100 percent growth in trading volume in 2018 over 2017.

However, recently, Huobi announced that Huobi’s Australian subsidiary will be operated by a team at Huobi Global’s Singapore headquarters due to poor market conditions and associated recent staff redundancies at Huobi Australia.