Bolivia Becomes a Hotbed After Lifting Crypto Blanket Ban

The Central Bank of Bolivia shared numbers that show the country‘s crypto activity is overheating. According to the institution’s data, purchase and sales operations for crypto assets grew over 100% after the bank lifted a blanket ban on crypto operations earlier this year.

Bolivia Heats up With Crypto Adoption, Over 252,000 Hold Digital Assets

Bolivia, one of the smallest economies in Latam, is growing its crypto adoption levels. In a press release shared on November 25, the Central Bank of Bolivia highlighted this rise in crypto activity, stating that it has “dynamized the national payment system.”

Data from the central bank indicates that purchase and sale operations for digital assets rose 112% after lifting the blanket ban that forbade banks and payment institutions from facilitating their channels for these operations.

Read more: Central Bank of Bolivia Unbans Bitcoin From the Nations Financial Ecosystem

The bank now estimates that over 252,000 Bolivians hold digital assets, completing trade operations on different platforms. Edwin Rojas Ulo, president of the bank, specified that the volume moved in these operations exceeded $75 million in the last four months (July-October 2024), a very relevant increase compared to $46.4 million traded during Q1 and Q2 2024.

In addition, the rising popularity of crypto assets has also brought more institutions to provide crypto services in Bolivia, reaching 9 companies.

Rojas Ulo explained:

Regarding the type of transaction, transfers to national banks are first, followed by transfers abroad and online purchases are in third place.

Rojas Ulo had praised the utility of crypto assets before, remarking on the possible uses of stablecoins like USDT as dollar proxies. He explained that using stablecoins was “as if one were trading in North American currency, although what one is doing are operations with these digital assets.”

Read more: Central Bank of Bolivia States Crypto Might Be Beneficial, Remarks Stablecoins Utility as Dollar Proxy

Given the dollar scarcity that the country is currently facing, it is not strange that financial institutions have started offering stablecoin-based services to their customers. In October, Bisa Bank became the first bank to offer trading and custody services for Tethers USDT. Yvette Espinoza, president of the banking system watchdog ASFI, explained this would help “to reduce the risk of unsafe interactions in the cryptocurrency market” for the service customers.