Juan Agustín D’Attellis Noguera, a director of Banco Central de la República Argentina, the nation’s central bank, has publicly endorsed Minister of Economy Sergio Massa’s push for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to address Argentina’s economic challenges.
In a recent television appearance, Noguera expressed his belief that the “digital peso” could play a pivotal role in stabilizing the Argentine economy as early as 2024. He highlighted the CBDC’s key feature, traceability, as a means to enhance tax collection:
“By having traceability of operations with a digital currency because it is not known who does them, but there is evidence that they were done, you broaden the tax base. This will allow you to raise more without having to raise taxes and even lower them.”
Noguera also identified the CBDC as a potential solution to the nation’s monetary issues. The Argentine peso’s instability often puts it in competition with the United States dollar as a payment method. Noguera firmly stated that the CBDC would be gradually introduced, coexisting with cash, with a full replacement of paper fiat currency occurring in the project’s final stage.
Sergio Massa, who is both the Minister of Economy and a presidential candidate, made a commitment on October 2nd to launch a CBDC if elected, aiming to address Argentina’s persistent inflation crisis. Recent election polls indicate that Massa is slightly trailing behind Javier Milei, a pro-Bitcoin candidate who advocates adopting the U.S. dollar as Argentina’s official currency.
Noguera’s endorsement of the CBDC underscores growing support within Argentina’s financial and political circles for exploring digital currency solutions to tackle economic challenges. The potential introduction of a digital peso could mark a significant step in the nation’s efforts to stabilize its economy, combat inflation, and promote tax transparency.
