An Argentine province named San Luis has begun incorporating blockchain-based technology as part of its modernization drive. A bill titled “Financial Innovation for Investment and Social Economic Development” with the number VIII-1085-2022 was recently approved by the province’s legislators.
It introduces blockchain as a tool to potentiate the development of several fields in the province, including generating value and streamlining auditing procedures.
San Luis is considering issuing its own stablecoin that is pegged to the dollar as part of this ordinance. The “San Luis Savings Digital Asset” token will be made available to all province residents and will be fully collateralized by the state’s liquid financial resources. The rulebook for this regulation has not yet been developed, thus it is still unclear whether this digital asset will serve as money or only as a type of debt bond.
The bill also permits the province to issue stablecoins up to 2% of its yearly budget. The law establishes that these assets will be transferable between parties, but it does not specify the chain on which they would be issued.
Additionally, the law has a section on the distribution of creative digital materials. The document states that it would issue “San Luis Art Digital Assets” as collections of works of art made by regional artists with the intention of providing them with a forum for digitising their works. These items will be distributed as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), to ensure that each one is distinct and that the creator or owner of the digital asset will be the only person with ownership of the item.
The province will also develop an internal market that will enable artists to sell their works and get recognition as members of the San Luis artistic community.
Such weird but bold things do happen in Argentina. Last year, José Luis Ramón, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, submitted a proposal for approval that would allow dependent workers and individuals who export services in Argentina to opt to receive all or part of their pay in crypto. However, there have been no significant public updates on that bill since then.