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On March 20, venture capitalist and Bitcoin proponent Tim Draper met with Argentina's president, Mauricio Macri, to discuss possible solutions for improving the country's embattled economy, according to Spanish language newspaper La Nacion.
In his meeting with President Macri, Draper reportedly outlined the need for Argentina to build a technological infrastructure that will attract entrepreneurs and fight the potential brain drain resulting from Argentina's failing economy.
Although Argentina enjoyed 2.9 percent growth in its economy in 2017, it went into a slump during the second quarter of 2018. During this slump, the Argentine peso fell approximately 100 percent against the US dollar, which resulted in rapid inflation. Per a January report in the Buenos Aires Times, Argentina is now experiencing a recession. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes this will cause Argentina's economy to further recede by 1.7 percent in 2019 and that the country's economy will only start to recover in 2020.
To help accelerate economic recovery, Draper advised President Macri to declare bitcoin as legal tender in Argentina and to use virtual currency to supplant the drooping Argentine peso. Speaking with La Nacion after his meeting with President Macri, Draper asserted that these actions will spur economic recovery in Argentina because, he believes, the price of bitcoin will increase to "US $250,000 between 2022 and 2023" and that bitcoin will comprise 5 percent of the globe's currencies. Draper also said that once virtual currencies are treated and used like fiat currency, most people are going to choose crypto over fiat due to its versatility and the fact that it is decentralized.
According to La Nacion, Draper also suggested that President Macri improve the country's WiFi infrastructure by implementing 5G. Draper stated that, along with legalizing bitcoin, these actions are bound to attract big companies that will build the nation's technology infrastructure and roads, creating a more technologically advanced and interconnected country.
Regarding his purpose in making these recommendations, Draper said:
"I think it's time to attract entrepreneurs and venture capital, so we will create progress because, otherwise, the country will continue on this bureaucratic path that lets the status quo continue and will bring everything to collapse, and we do not want that."
Translations by Google.