Stablecoins are exploding and >98% are USD-based. This will accelerate dollarization of the global economy. Good for USA says @BarrySilbert But he worries about giving US Treasury unlimited ability to dollars. "Over time, governments destroy their currency again and again"

In 2023, 108 leftwing economists said Javier Milei would fail. In a much hyper letter, the economists denounced the radical Laissez Faire programme as "fraught with risks that make them potentially very harmful for the Argentine economy." They were, we now know, wrong. The critics listed a number of concerns. A major reduction in government spending would increase poverty and inequality, privatisation would reduce access to services for the poor and dollarization of the economy would cause inflation and a decline in real wages. What actually happened? Despite the warnings, Milei has pursued his agenda without compromise. Government enterprises are being privatised, the state is rolled back, public sector jobs are being cut and markets are freed up. Real terms government spending was 27 percent lower in 2025 than in 2023. Argentina achieved its first budget surplus in 15 years in 2024, and repeated the feat in 2025, despite cutting several targeted taxes on agriculture, exports and energy investment. But the predicted adverse consequences have not materialized. Inflation is down from more than 200% to around 33%, and price rises in 2026 promises to be the lowest in a decade. After an initial recession in 2024, growth rebounded sharply in 2025, and the first quarter of 2026 saw 2.3% year-on-year growth. While public sector wages have been subject to austerity measures, private sector wages have kept up with or even outpaced inflation. After an initial spike, poverty has fallen from 42% to 28%. Axing rent control laws led to a tripling of available apartments in Buenos Aires and real terms rents fell by 30%. It has not all been smooth sailing. The Peso has been devalued, but not fast enough to offset still high inflation. Managing the overvalued currency has put a strain on the Central Bank’s currency reserves. Still, despite the expensive Peso, the trade balance has gone from -$6.7bn in 2023 to an $11bn surplus in 2025, driven by agricultural exports and less reliance on energy imports. There has been issues with access to services. Spending cuts have meant deteriorating conditions in public hospitals and schools, and though the effects are partly offset by the drop in the poverty rate, this has adversely affected the poorest. Milei warned during his campaign that "in the short term, the situation will worsen, but then we will see the fruits of our efforts." Milei has put the Argentine economy on libertarian shock therapy, and the results are proving his critics wrong.