In Argentina, there are traces everywhere of distrust and even trauma related to the economy.<\/p>\n For Jer\u00f3nimo Ferrer, a formative memory is of Argentina’s crushing financial crisis<\/a> at the end of the 1990 – when bank accounts were frozen and, almost overnight, people’s savings evaporated.<\/p>\n He’s not alone. One engineering student I spoke to keeps all his savings, in US dollars, at home because he fears that the banks will again devalue holdings overnight.<\/p>\n While many Argentinians are, by necessity, experts on the state of the economy – from the sky-high level of inflation to the current unofficial rate of exchange between the peso and the US dollar – Mr Ferrer has gone further than most.<\/p>\n Since 2019, he’s run a walking tour called “Our local crazy economy & Bitcoin tour of Buenos Aires”, where he explains to tourists the level of restrictions Argentines face, such as limits on foreign currency transactions, or bans on payments in instalments for international flights.<\/p>\n He also provides a primer on cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin, and why he believes it is a valuable alternative to the volatile and highly-controlled Argentine peso.<\/p>\n “When you have restrictions, you need tools for freedom,” Mr Ferrer says.<\/p>\n For many crypto enthusiasts around the world, decentralised and digital currency is primarily about ideology or profit. But for many Argentines, it fills more basic needs.<\/p>\n “I trust more mathematics and software than I trust politicians,” Mr Ferrer explains. “I think that Bitcoin for Argentinians should be a no-brainer.”<\/p>\n There are other ways that the strong government intervention in the economy has helped cryptocurrency gain a footing in Argentina. For example, it’s relatively cheap to run an energy-guzzling Bitcoin mining<\/a> operation, because the cost of electricity is kept relatively low.<\/p>\n Bitcoin mining is the process that creates new Bitcoin. It involves computers solving complicated maths problems. Solve the problem and you are awarded Bitcoin. It sounds simple but involves elaborate computer systems, requiring lots of electricity to run and cool them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n