BTC Lease Agreement: Landlord and Tenant Execute Bitcoin Rental Contract

In Rosario, Argentina’s third-largest city by population, a landlord and tenant have finalised a unique rental arrangement, marking the first-of-its-kind in the country. The agreement, facilitated by recent legal changes under the new presidential administration, enables the tenant to make monthly rental payments in Bitcoin. 

As of January 11, as reported by the local newspaper Pagina 12, the monthly payment specified in the contract is set at the equivalent of $100 in Bitcoin. The tenant will execute the monthly transfers using Fiwind, a local cryptocurrency platform. Notably, both parties involved in the contract are seasoned cryptocurrency users, according to the report.

The Argentine rental laws, along with various segments of the national legal framework, underwent revisions following the victory of newly-elected President Javier Milei in the general election held in November 2023, amidst widespread inflation in the country.

In December 2023, Diana Mondino, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Worship, asserted that a decree focused on economic reform and deregulation would permit the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies within the nation, subject to specific conditions.

Furthermore, the government has streamlined the process for legalising overdue cryptocurrency holdings, introducing a regularisation scheme. Taxpayers opting to declare their holdings by the end of March 2024 would incur a flat tax of 5%, with rates increasing to 10% from April and 15% from July until the end of September. This initiative aims to facilitate compliance and provide a structured framework for cryptocurrency taxation.