- A landlord and tenant in Argentina have signed the country’s first Bitcoin-based lease.
- It may be the first contract of its kind in the world.
- New regulations in Argentina now allow Bitcoin to be used as a valid currency in contracts.
A bitcoin-based lease has been signed in Argentina and perhaps the world’s first ever, according to a report, marking a major milestone in cryptocurrency adoption.
According to local media Paginal12, last week, the owner and tenant of an apartment in Rosario, Argentina’s third-largest city, signed a rental agreement stipulating that the rent must be paid monthly in Bitcoin, the most widely used cryptocurrency in the world.
According to Paginal12, the agreed-upon monthly rent corresponds to 100 Tether (USDT), a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.
Therefore, the rent is equivalent to $100 in US currency.
The company told Paginal12 that payments will be made via the Fiwind platform, of which both parties are active members.
Fiwind did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, but a company spokesperson told Paginal12 that this is the first agreement of its kind, “at least in Argentina.”
The move follows the government of Argentina’s new pro-bitcoin president, Javier Miley, approving a law last month. The law allows Bitcoin to be used as a valid currency in official contracts.
In recent years, Argentines have increasingly embraced cryptocurrencies as the value of the local currency, the peso, erodes amid rising inflation.
Cryptocurrency experts believe the use of Bitcoin in contracts could signal a big step toward wider use of cryptocurrencies in the country, according to financial news outlet FX Empire.