Welcome to Latam Insights Encore. This dives deep into Latin America's most relevant economic and crypto news last week. This edition explores the ongoing crisis in Bolivia, even from the government's side, that is structured to stimulate growth in crypto adoption.
Latam Insights Encore: Bolivia will become the power of crypto as the economy deteriorates
Bolivia has become a case study of the adoption of cryptocurrency in Ratham given the current harmful economic situation facing its citizens. Bolivians are currently dealing with unfavourable events that involve irresponsible management of the currency market.
Nevertheless, as commonly occur in these cases, these measures have been maintained for a long period of time, hurting the economies of these countries and leaving behind systemic failures. In this case, not only was the Bolivian personal economy affected, but it also has the overall ability of the country to acquire the products needed to carry out production activities such as fuel.
Even President Louis Arce has recently admitted that Bolivia is facing a disastrous strait with its dollar reserves. “Today, we live every day. Every dollar we have is basically for fuel, debt payments, etc.” he recognized.
Nevertheless, when these crises attack, cryptocurrencies appear to be intervening to help citizens face these unfavorable consequences. Since lifting the cipher blanket ban, the Bolivian crypto scene has grown dramatically, with trading volumes rising above 600% in the first half of 2025.
I expect this use to continue to grow even if the ARCE president issues an executive order banning state oil companies from using Stablecoins in settlement operations.
As Stablecoins continue to grow to become a safe and generalized payment instrument, Bolivia has no choice but to lift this ban to enjoy the advantage of not being difficult to use Stablecoins for these activities. This also releases dollars that are destined for these activities to be used for other purposes.
Read more: Record virtual assets usage amidst the Bolivian Central Bank's Register Dollar shortage
