Argentina Proposes Sweeping Deregulation Bill to Modernize Capital Markets With Crypto and Blockchain

Deregulation Bill Puts Digital Assets At The Forefront of Argentina’s Market Innovation

Argentina is on the verge of starting a new modernization phase of its financial market rules with decentralized technologies, tokenization, and digital assets at its center.

An early draft of the Deregulation Bill, prepared by Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger, proposes significant changes to include digital assets and decentralized technologies in national financial markets, aiming to open new possibilities to investors interested in these assets.

First and foremost, the project proposes allowing investment funds to invest in digital assets when in agreement with the fund’s investment policy. This would open a demand for billions in digital assets, according to early estimates.

“Today, crypto-assets are investment assets; it is a good thing to allow funds to invest in them—subject, of course, to regulations that the CNV must approve. It is not a case of just anyone going out to buy Bitcoin, nor is it just any crypto-asset,” an undisclosed source told Clarin.

Also, the document approves the tokenization of all negotiable securities, including issuance, custody, transference, and sale of these assets using decentralized technologies. This would modernize the whole stock and securities markets, as market participants take advantage of quicker, cheaper, and more efficient operations.

Digital assets, such as bitcoin, are also considered for collateral. Loans could be secured with bitcoin and other digital assets, opening the traditional system to crypto natives whose capital is concentrated mainly in these investments.

Smart contracts are also given full legal recognition, meaning that traditional contracts, including rent agreements and mortgages, could be issued on the blockchain. In the same way, redemptions, automatic payments, and foreclosures could also happen without a judge’s ruling, as smart contracts would enable these operations automatically.

While the bill shared is only a draft and might change before being presented to Congress, it establishes a clear intent to spearhead innovation to adjust current market conditions by leveraging decentralized tech in a direction compatible with earlier changes made by President Milei.