Juan Agustín D’Attellis Noguera, a director at the 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) as a potential remedy for Argentina’s economic challenges.
In a televised interview, Noguera articulated his belief that the introduction of the “digital peso” could offer stability to the Argentine economy as early as 2024. He emphasized a key feature of the CBDC, its traceability, which, in his view, could significantly expand the tax base, facilitating increased revenue collection for the government. Noguera stated:
“The traceability of transactions with a digital currency, because even if the identities of those involved are unknown, there is evidence that the transactions took place, would broaden the tax base. This would allow for increased revenue collection without the necessity of raising taxes, and possibly even reducing them.”
Furthermore, Noguera highlighted how the CBDC could address Argentina’s ongoing monetary issues, as the local currency, the Argentine peso, frequently competes with the U.S. dollar, even in day-to-day transactions.
Noguera expressed strong confidence in the digital peso, asserting that its implementation would occur gradually, coexisting with physical cash. The complete replacement of paper fiat currency would take place in the final phase of the CBDC project.
On October 2, Massa, who is also a presidential candidate, made a commitment to launch a CBDC if elected, viewing it as a potential solution to Argentina’s persistent issue of inflation. According to election polls, Massa faces a close competition with Javier Milei, a pro-Bitcoin candidate who advocates for the adoption of the U.S. dollar as Argentina’s official currency.
