Bolivia to Tether: Hold My Boliviano 🥤

Bolivia is evaluating a regulatory framework that would allow Tether's USDT to circulate "as just another currency" alongside the boliviano and the US dollar, Economy and Public Finance Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza said at a Monday press conference. The framework, still under review, could recognize USDT for everyday transactions, savings and trade without requiring cash or the traditional banking system, according to the Spanish outlet CriptoNoticias.

Espinoza said any rollout would require a robust regulatory structure and strong anti-money laundering safeguards, noting that Bolivia remains on the Financial Action Task Force grey list, which identifies jurisdictions under increased monitoring for money laundering and terrorist financing. The proposal builds on Bolivia's lifting of its longstanding cryptocurrency ban in 2024, and President Rodrigo Paz Pereira's administration, in office since late 2025, has pledged to integrate digital assets into the formal financial system, paving the way for banks to offer crypto-related products including stablecoin-based accounts.

The push comes amid a prolonged US dollar shortage that has reshaped Bolivia's payments landscape. The country maintained an official rate of 6.86 bolivianos per US dollar for purchases and 6.96 for sales from 2011 until earlier this year, when pressure on reserves forced the government to abandon the long-standing peg, Reuters reported. The resulting gap between official and parallel rates has driven demand for dollar-denominated alternatives, including USDT, now the world's largest stablecoin with a market capitalization exceeding $184 billion according to CoinMarketCap.

Domestic banking infrastructure is already taking shape around the stablecoin, with Banco Unión and Banco FIE offering USDT-related services. In March 2025, state energy company YPFB was authorized to accept crypto payments for fuel imports during the dollar crunch, and by June 2025 Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino posted images of Bolivian retail stores selling consumer goods including dairy products and chocolate for USDT. Crypto analyst CryptoPatel wrote on X that "when your currency fails, bring in the stable one."

Bolivia ranked highly in Chainalysis' 2025 Latin America crypto adoption assessment, recording $14.8 billion in total transaction volume over a 12-month period, underscoring how stablecoin demand has already taken root in a country working to formalize it.