Argentine lawmaker proposes bill to allow employees receive their salaries in Bitcoin

Jose-Luis Ramon, a member of the lower house of the Argentine National Congress, has submitted a bill that would allow workers to choose to receive part or the whole of their salaries in Bitcoin and other cryptos.

Ramon said in a tweet on Tuesday that his proposed crypto bill would apply to anyone working as an ‘exporter of services’ and also to those who depend on an employer for income. He further suggested that the proposal has the potential to increase the financial freedom of employees and protect their purchasing power.

The idea is that [workers] can strengthen their autonomy and retain the purchasing power of their remuneration […] This initiative stems from the need to promote greater autonomy and governance of wages, without this implying a loss of rights or exposure to situations of abuse within the framework of the employment relationship.

The Argentine government compelled service exporters to convert their income from dollars to Argentine pesos through an exchange channel in 2019. However, the proposed bill would ensure that overseas workers need not convert their earnings to peso after returning home, considering the fact that the native Argentine peso suffers inflation of 50% per annum.

Argentina is highly placed in grassroots cryptocurrency adoption alongside other Latin American countries. The country is will not be the first to implement such an initiative. In February, Miami passed a resolution allowing municipal employees to receive their salaries in Bitcoin.