The newly elected libertarian President of Argentina, Javier Milei, has presented an extensive reform package in the country's parliament, with a proposal for the legalization of crypto asset holdings being abandoned alongside the overdue tax returns. The provision related to asset regularization was removed from the Law on the Basics and Starting Points of Argentine Freedom, an omnibus bill designed to advance Milei's policy agenda. The original bill suggested a one-time tax on various types of previously undeclared assets, including cryptocurrencies.
The removed section proposed a straightforward tax structure: 5% on all assets declared before the end of March 2024, 10% from April 2024 to the end of June 2024, and 15% from July to the end of September. This formalization plan encompassed various assets such as real estate, movables, stocks, securities, and cryptocurrencies. The Interior Secretary, Guillermo Francos, explained that the decision to remove asset regularization from the bill was made to avoid delaying the parliamentary processing of the initiative.
In December 2023, Argentina's Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Religion, Diana Mondino, announced that the government would pass a decree permitting the use of Bitcoin in the country. However, this decree has not been enacted yet. Despite earlier mentions by Milei about Bitcoin as a means to return money to the private sector, he has not publicly discussed digital assets since taking office in December 2023.
In January, the new president pledged not to object legally to provincial authorities creating local currencies. This announcement was prompted by La Rioja governor Ricardo Quintela, who declared that the province would adopt a separate currency after Milei devalued the Argentine peso by 50% upon taking office. The shifting dynamics around cryptocurrency legalization and the regulatory framework in Argentina continue to be closely watched.
