Argentina has a fixed exchange rate, which means that the rate when you want to buy or sell dollars when you have pesos is not set by the market. The government has set the exchange rates such that they end up keeping more of the dollars and fewer of the pesos end up getting to the employee. So in Argentina, you don't just have the general challenge that international transactions are, have a bit of a high transaction cost to them, or fee. You can't do it. There's no way to buy foreign goods. No way to transfer money. If you're only going to be using the legal Argentinian monetary system. But obviously in Miami at this current time
Devon Zuegel talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the crazy world of money and finance in Argentina. When inflation is often high and unpredictable, people look for unusual ways to hold their savings. And when banks are unreliable because of public policy, people look for unusual ways to keep their savings safe and to make financial transactions. Welcome to Argentina, where Zuegel finds surprising applications of cryptocurrency for solving problems.