Argentine President Talks to Richard Branson About Bitcoin

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, discussed a number of topics with the Argentine president, including drug control, space flight and Bitcoin. According to President Mauricio, the British entrepreneur expressed his interest in investing in Argentina.

The president's Facebook page updated the post saying the president was "very interested in this conversation with Branson because of the entrepreneur's entrepreneurial spirit in areas related to high technology such as space flight and humanitarian issues involving Bitcoin applications. "

Macri was elected president of Argentina in 2015. As a former civil engineer, it is no surprise that he is interested in space flight and Bitcoin. He is the first democratically elected non-radical or Peronist president of Argentina since 1916 and served as head of government in Buenos Aires from 2007 to 2015.

Macri, a high-soccer prodigy, gained widespread recognition after becoming president of Argentina's most popular soccer club, Boca Juniors, in 1995. In 2005, he founded the right-wing electoral party, Alliance for a Republican Proposal , or PRO.

Branson has a history with Bitcoin as one of BitPay's many investors. The Virgin Galactic founder also hosts digital currency summits on his private island and represents one of the first high-profile investors to enter the Bitcoin industry.

In September, Branson expressed his belief to Bloomberg News that he doesn’t care what the debate about Bitcoin’s block size and technology will lead to. Branson has always been a supporter of the digital currency, writing on Virgin’s website:

I have invested in Bitcoin because I believe in its potential and its ability to transform global payments is so exciting. Dissatisfaction with the business-as-usual approach taken by major payment sites has long been evident.

Bitcoin is seen by many as the future of the future, as it solves the problem of higher levels of control, freedom, and censorship of our money. While many are excited about the possibilities that Bitcoin offers, I’m sure none of us would argue that this will come without problems.

The reason why Bitcoin is popular among the Argentine people is mostly because this South American country has experienced a currency crisis that is enough to shake the entire country. In August, the New York Times published an article titled "Can Bitcoin Conquer Argentina?" In that article, the mainstream American newspaper wrote:

Banks are ubiquitous, holding large amounts of money and moving it around; they help money fulfill its duties as a store of value and a medium of exchange. But in a country that has a history of financial instability, more and more Argentines are using Bitcoin to fulfill those duties. They put money into their Bitcoin "wallets" - digital accounts that require a password to access - and use the network when they need to send or spend money, with Castiglione or one of its competitors acting as the middleman between the traditional economy and the Bitcoin market. Bitcoin charges lower fees and is more convenient than Argentine financial institutions.

In effect, the Argentines are conducting an ambitious experiment that threatens to eventually spread to the United States and undermine some of the most basic services provided by American banks.

According to an earlier report by CNN, the number of Bitcoin users in Argentina doubled from 2014 to 2015. Some Bitcoin media speculated that President Macri might be a Bitcoin supporter. The most likely outcome is that Bitcoin will become a partner of the Argentine government and institutional investors in the blockchain field through large companies such as Digital Asset Holdings or R3 .