Argentina's first bitcoin-based rental agreement between a landlord and a tenant has made headlines in the real estate sector.
As per reports, the owner of an apartment in Rosario, the country's third-largest city, signed a rental agreement last week which specified that the rent must be paid monthly in bitcoin, the most widely used cryptocurrency in the world.
The agreed monthly rent corresponded to 100 Tether (USDT), a stable currency pegged to the US dollar, which is equivalent to $100 in US currency.
Payments will be made through the Fiwind platform, of which both parties are active members. According to a representative of the company, it is the first agreement of its kind, "at least in Argentina".
Florencia Feldman, Fiwind's Chief Marketing Officer, stated that some people have questioned why a person would prefer to own bitcoins instead of the local currency. She noted that it is a personal decision, and speculated that it may be because of the expectation that, in 2024, the price of bitcoin is expected to increase due to the halving and other factors, such as the SEC approval of bitcoin ETFs.
The use of bitcoin in official contracts was recently approved by the government of Argentina's new president, Javier Milei. The law allows cryptocurrency to be used as a valid currency in official contracts, marking a significant step towards the wider use of cryptocurrencies in the country.
As the local currency, the peso, has lost value due to soaring inflation, the use of cryptocurrencies has been increasingly adopted by Argentines
Financial news outlet FX Empire reported that cryptocurrency experts believe the use of bitcoin in contracts could be a major step towards the wider use of cryptocurrencies in the country.
