Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

Bitcoin-friendly Javier Milei wins Argentina presidential election

Argentina's Bitcoin -friendly Javier Milei won the country’s presidential run-off election on Nov. 19, beating out his opponent Sergio Massa.

With almost 99% of the vote counted, Milei won over 55% of the votes with a nearly 3 million vote lead according to Bloomberg data.

Massa, the country’s minister of economy, called Milei to congratulate him on the victory after more than 90% of the votes were counted — before the announcement of the first official results. Milei will take office on December 10.

With nearly 100% of the vote counted, Milei had an over 10 percentage point lead on Massa. Source: Bloomberg

Argentina's long-lasting inflation crisis has been a heated topic in the South American country, with the Argentine peso recording over a 140% increase in annual inflation in the last 12 months.

Milei has been vocal about his criticisms toward the country’s central bank, referring to it as a scam and a “mechanism by which politicians cheat the good people with inflationary tax.”

He’s referred to Bitcoin as a movement toward “the return of money to its original creator, the private sector.”

However, he has not signaled any intention to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country.

Massa’s views on the money, banking and cryptocurrency industry appear to be polar opposite to Milei.

In October, he pledged to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) if elected to “solve” Argentina’s long-lasting inflation crisis.

Massa won the first round of Argentina’s presidential election in October. However, it wasn’t enough to win the presidency outright, triggering the final run-off vote.

Prior to that, Milei won Argentina’s primary election against Massa and other candidates in August.

Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • New York Attorney General Reaches $2 Billion Settlement with Genesis

    Letitia James, the New York Attorney General, announced a $2 billion settlement agreement with bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Genesis, which will help maximize compensation for investors. As Genesis had previously declared bankruptcy, the settlement agreement requires review and approval by a bankruptcy court. The settlement agreement will establish a victim fund to assist defrauded investors, including at least 29,000 New Yorkers who contributed over $1.1 billion to Genesis through Gemini Earn investments. Additionally, the settlement agreement prohibits Genesis from operating in New York. This is the largest settlement agreement in New York history against a cryptocurrency company.

  • Uniswap Labs and Across Protocol collaborate to propose a new cross-chain intent standard ERC-7683

    According to official sources, Uniswap Labs and Across Protocol have proposed a new cross-chain intent standard, ERC-7683, and established a unified framework for specifying cross-chain operations based on intent. This standard allows for the implementation of a standard API for cross-chain transaction execution systems. The standard provides a common CrossChainOrder structure and a standard ISettlementContract smart contract interface.

  • Nigeria's Securities Regulator: Global Cryptocurrency Exchanges Have Delisted Naira

    The Nigerian securities regulator recently stated that global cryptocurrency exchanges have complied with its directive to delist Naira from their respective P2P platforms. The US SEC cited Kucoin's recent announcement of Naira's delisting and related services as evidence supporting its claims. The acting director of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission called on platforms engaged in activities that harm national interests to stop such activities.

  • Gnosis Price Rises 20% After Thanefield Capital's $30M Token Buyback Offer

    The crypto fund Thanefield Capital has proposed a buyback plan for the Gnosis DAO native token. The proposal aims to deploy $30 million for regular token buybacks within six months. Gnosis co-founder Martin Köppelmann supports the proposal but warns that buybacks should be tied to growth plans. Since the proposal went live, Gnosis' price has risen by over 20%, reaching a high of $320, and is now trading at $308.

  • Nigerian court denies bail request for Binance chief Tigran Gambaryan

    A Nigerian court has rejected the bail application of Tigran Gambaryan, the compliance chief of Binance Finance. Judge Emeka Nwite believes that if the Binance executive's application is approved, he may not continue to appear in court. A Binance spokesperson expressed disappointment and sadness at the ruling. The court will adjourn for cross-examination on May 23.

  • ICBC: Hong Kong subsidiary has built a complete service system including the redemption, circulation and redemption of digital RMB

    Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has officially announced that its overseas subsidiary, ICBC (Asia) located in Hong Kong, has built a complete service system for digital renminbi exchange, circulation, and redemption. At the same time, ICBC Asia has launched a digital renminbi experience activity for local individual customers in Hong Kong.

  • The transaction volume of 6 Hong Kong virtual asset ETFs today was HK$26.1102 million

    According to Hong Kong stock market data, as of the close of trading, the turnover of 6 Hong Kong virtual asset ETFs today was HKD 26.11 million, including:

  • Cointime's Evening Highlights for May 19th

    1.US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of $948.3 million this week

  • This year, there have been more than 90 Bitcoin ecosystem-related financings

    There have been more than 90 financing transactions related to the Bitcoin ecosystem since 2024, setting a new record for the highest number of financing transactions in a single year in Bitcoin's history. Kyle Samani, Managing Partner at Multicoin Capital, pointed out that with the emergence of the Bitcoin Taproot upgrade and the Ordinals protocol, the Bitcoin ecosystem is experiencing a "developer renaissance". For some developers, building financial tools on Bitcoin is more attractive because it is the oldest and most secure blockchain. Multicoin Capital's investment trend is reportedly shifting from Solana to the Bitcoin ecosystem. The venture capital firm has invested in projects such as Solana Labs and StarkWare, but recently participated in the funding of the Bitcoin-native music platform Arch Network and the Bitcoin scaling network Mezo.

  • Genesis Global secures court approval for $3B payout

    According to Judge Lane, any available funds for distribution by Genesis are being exhausted by creditor claims, which take priority over DCG’s equity stake.