Argentina considering digital peso?

[sergio]

Argentina Is Starting to Think About a Digital Peso - Decrypt

Governor Raúl Jalil has submitted a formal proposal to President Alberto Fernandez to consider creating a digital peso for Argentina.

decrypt.co

 

[jblaze5779]

You don't even need to print anything to make more of them!!! Way cheaper.

 

[QuilmesSlo]

in a highly inflationary environment, this may have particularly utility. Move that money! Velocity.

 

[antipodean]

Venezuela did the same to deal with inflation and production issues. It failed. If people don’t trust the state they won’t trust its digital currency.
Fast forward a few years later to 2021 after trying every trick in the book and finally the de-facto currency used in cash transactions and other prices at everything from street vendors to rents is USD. There are no import restrictions or shortages either but these things bought and sold at international prices are only “affordable” for the middle and upper classes. Digital use of bolívares is now only used for paying state subsidized services and goods (in short supply) for the poor since cash has effectively stopped being produced.

 

[dilmah]

You don't even need to print anything to make more of them

if they indeed mean decentralized distributed digital currency (just like bitcoin) then restrictions/rules on making more of them is part of distributed protocol.
You need majority of participants to agree on changing those restrictions.
One party (government) can't just change them on a whim.

 

[lunar]

if they indeed mean decentralized distributed digital currency (just like bitcoin)

They don't.

From the article

... an Argentine digital peso would make no attempt to even appear decentralized.

The whole system is based here on printing money and giving them to the right people to secure their support for the next elections. Embracing a properly decentralized digital currency would completely undermine it.

 

[jblaze5779]

Do you think this government would actually go to a currency they couldn't control? The only reason people aren't rioting in the streets right now is the gov prints money and gives it out.