Pro-Bitcoin Javier Milei will be watching as the second round of Argentina’s presidential election takes place

Pro-Bitcoin (BTC) presidential candidate Javier Millay failed to secure a victory in the first round of Argentina's presidential election, and now faces Economy Minister Sergio Massa in a runoff on November 19.

On October 23, polling results provided by Bloomberg showed that more than 90% of the vote had been counted – Massa was leading with more than 36% of the vote, while Miley managed to win more than 30% of the vote.

The presidential hopefuls needed 45% of the vote or 40% with a 10 percentage point lead to win the presidency outright.

In the country's primary presidential election in August, Miley won a landslide victory with 30% of the vote, making him the front-runner for the presidency in the first place.

Calling himself an anarcho-capitalist, Miley moved to reduce the size of government and abolish Argentina's central bank as a fraud. It also plans to dump the Argentine peso against the US dollar, mirroring Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador.

The Millet Liberty Advance (La Libertad Avanza) coalition has been described as somewhere between libertarian and far-right populist.

Related: Bitcoin is on the rise in Argentina as Javier Milei wins the presidential primary

Milei also called Bitcoin a response to “central bank fraudsters” and allows fiat currency politicians to cheat Argentines with inflation.

Massa, for his part, has promised to launch a central bank digital currency (CBCC) if elected to solve Argentina's long-term inflation problem and has played down the idea of ​​accepting the dollar.

The vote comes as 40% of Argentines face poverty and grapple with the country's growing credit crisis. Annual inflation is closing in at 140 percent.

Argentina will go to the polls again on November 19. The candidate with the most votes wins the presidency for four years.

Journal: Unstable Coins: Debasement, Bankruptcy and Other Risks Looming.