Two developers working on Streamium are calling out media coverage of Bitcoin in Argentina as misleading. Manuel Aráoz and Esteban Ordano, based in Buenos Aires, spoke about their experience with Bitc
Two developers working on Streamium are calling out media coverage of Bitcoin in Argentina as misleading. Manuel Aráoz and Esteban Ordano, based in Buenos Aires, spoke about their experience with Bitcoin adoption during an appearance on Epicenter Bitcoin and disputed the narrative that Argentina represents a major hub for cryptocurrency development.
Aráoz pointed to the gap between what gets written about Argentina and Bitcoin versus what's happening on the ground. "It's actually pretty funny to us to read all of those articles claiming Argentina is like the center for Bitcoin and where Bitcoin is growing faster than — it's actually not quite true," he said on the podcast. "As I always tell everyone, Argentina is kind of a good spot in many ways for Bitcoin because our local currency is really, really bad, there are big capital controls, and it's hard to get foreign currencies, but actually, adoption is pretty low. I would say Bitcoin is growing much faster and adoption is much wider in other countries, so I wouldn't say Argentina is the best place for Bitcoin right now. Actually, I read many things in news articles that are totally not true about Argentina and Bitcoin, so be careful about that."
The complaints align with a pattern: cryptocurrency-focused publications sometimes publish inaccurate coverage of Bitcoin's progress in different countries. Mircea Popescu, a longtime Bitcoin entrepreneur, published a detailed critique of the "Bitcoin is surging in Argentina" narrative on his blog around a year before this conversation.
When Epicenter Bitcoin host Sébastien Couture asked about the Argentine government's stance on Bitcoin, Aráoz again pushed back against the expectations many Bitcoin community members held. Most people assumed the government would move to restrict the currency's spread, but Aráoz disagreed.
"Actually, the Argentinian Government is not actively working against Bitcoin — I wouldn't say that . . . It's actually more or less a friendly environment for Bitcoin companies in Argentina," he said.
The only public statement from Argentine authorities on Bitcoin came as a warning from the central bank to consumers. The bank wanted people to understand that Bitcoin isn't a government-issued currency and operates outside regulatory oversight. Aráoz suggested the government might not perceive Bitcoin as a threat since adoption remains low.
Despite the weak numbers on actual Bitcoin usage, Argentina does have something going for it: developers are building there. Ordano noted that the development community is active and expanding. "But, at the same time, the development scene in Argentina is quite good. There are many companies and cool projects that are springing from Argentina, so that kind of counterbalances the low usage of Bitcoin in general."
Aráoz agreed about the talent pool but cautioned against viewing Argentina as the next major success story for Bitcoin. "There are some really good developers working on the technology side and there are some interesting companies down there too, but as far as what we read, at least about adoption (how it's the perfect ecosystem and that we will get millions of users), I think that's not going to happen — at least it's not going to happen in Argentina first."
The takeaway: anyone reading stories about Bitcoin adoption in any country should check whether the writer was on the ground when reporting.
