Bolivia lifts 10-year old ban on Bitcoin

[OcTradism]

It's great the BCB has realized the fact, that they can't control it no matter how much they want to regulate it. So instead of fighting with it, it's better for the economy to accept it as a part.

Governments can make new acts, laws and regulations to govern it and tax their citizens. They can do governance and tax to get income for their governmental budget, keep it running. I agree with you that governments need to know that they can not stop an era technological evolution and they can not tear all human rights apart, destroy it just to prohibit Bitcoin.

If they do it, sooner or later they will lose their governance to citizens because massive disappointment and angry will occur in their countries.

Not being a legal tender is fine as long as the citizens are able to use it without any blockage. Bitcoin will find its way into the local market eventually.

Being allowed to do transactions, exchanges legally is enough because no risk to go into jails with Bitcoin practice. Legal tender is an absolute legal status for Bitcoin but I don't actually need it to use Bitcoin blockchain. Even no legal tender, the adoption is good enough.

[Darker45]

What I care is "Does exchanging bitcoin (buy & sell) in Bolivia is legal?"
If it is, it is nearly the same in many countries globally, not only developed nations.

I suppose exchanging Bitcoin comes along with the lifting of the ban. OP's attachments and quotations are all in Spanish. If we translate them into English, it says:

El The Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) informs the public that through Board Resolution No. 082/2024, of June 25, 2024, it annulled Board Resolution No. 144/2020, of December 15, 2020. , thus enabling the use of channels and Electronic Payment Instruments (IEP) for purchase and sale operations of Virtual Assets.

The central bank, however, emphasized that Bitcoin is not a legal tender. As such, companies and the population in general don't have the obligation to accept Bitcoin as a means of payment. But the green light is there for anybody who wishes to transact using Bitcoin for as long as they use registered platforms.

I'm looking forward to crypto exchanges and other custodial services applying for license to operate in Bolivia.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

They also clearly stated that this doesn't mean that Bitcoin is legal tender:

So, basically Bolivia is now at the same level of most of the developed world in terms of Bitcoin. It is legal to transact with it, but it is not seen as a legal tender.

Whether it is made a legal tender or not, the fact that the restrictions on people transacting freely with Bitcoin have been lifted is the greatest of all. It has given a hint that Bitcoin is really kicking harder and soaring high, and by virtue of its growth, Bitcoin will definitely get approved in any other country it is banned in. Earlier, someone asked what Bitcoin would become in the future, but it's good news that the ban on Bitcoin has been lifted in Bolivia after 10 years of ban. Despite that, it is not going to be made a legal tender, but there will be some Bitcoin lovers who will definitely accept it as a means of payment in their businesses. 

[shield132]

It took them really a lot of years to understand that Bitcoin is not a problem. Bitcoin is an opportunity and they take it wrongly as a threat. They may not feel the effects directly but Bolivia missed lots of opportunities and lots of fortune by banning Bitcoin and I can prove that with an example of my country. My country took Bitcoin as an opportunity and also decided to implement blockchain technologies in the land title registry. We were among one of the top mining countries in the world too. It brought lots of money, lots of investment and lots of opportunities in our country. It's very sad that Bolivia did the exact opposite and missed such an opportunity.

[m2017]

But now it has all changed, and the Central Bank of Bolivia has recently removed all bans on Bitcoin transactions. Here's the X post from them:

How interesting is it that such a ban technically looks like? About the same as threatening a child with a finger for wrong actions. Funny, and that's all. Almost as much as if they were trying to ban the wind or the sun. How can the government ban something it has nothing to do with (lack of leverage).

So, basically Bolivia is now at the same level of most of the developed world in terms of Bitcoin. It is legal to transact with it, but it is not seen as a legal tender.

Sounds like some kind of rubbish. So bitcoin is half legal?

Legal tender can only be the local national currency of the country. Of course, bitcoin can't be accepted in this capacity.

This means that Bolivia finally gave up after senseless and futile attempts to ban bitcoin.

[bbc.reporter]

I reckon that it took Nayib Bukele and El Salvador to adopt bitcoin is a legal tender for Bolivia to start considering that bitcoin is not a scam. They have witnessed the reaction of the IMF and the World Bank after El Salvador's adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender and what advantages it might have brought them on the negotiation table. Every country on South America should start adopting it is legal tender and become a united continent under bitcoin adoption. This would be very headshaking for the IMF and the World Bank heheheheheheheee.

The Bolivian Central Bank stated clearly that the lifting of the ban does not make Bitcoin a legal tender. Individuals or companies are not mandated by the law to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender but banks can carry out Bitcoin transactions through approved electronic channels. El Salvador remains the only country that has legalized Bitcoin as a legal tender.

I did not mention anything that would cause everyone to imply that Bolivia's lifting on the ban on bitcoin would make it legal tender within their jurisdiction. What I said was the lifting of the ban might have been caused by El Salvador's support and probitcoin policies. Acceptance and the encouragement to use bitcoin will certainly help on the negotiation table against the IMF and the World Bank.

Also on Bolivia and bitcoin as legal tender, this might only be the beginning. They might pass a bill declaring bitcoin as legal tender, I predict within 3 years.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

I did not mention anything that would cause everyone to imply that Bolivia's lifting on the ban on bitcoin would make it legal tender within their jurisdiction. What I said was the lifting of the ban might have been caused by El Salvador's support and probitcoin policies. Acceptance and the encouragement to use bitcoin will certainly help on the negotiation table against the IMF and the World Bank.

Also on Bolivia and bitcoin as legal tender, this might only be the beginning. They might pass a bill declaring bitcoin as legal tender, I predict within 3 years.

I don't think the lifting ban on Bitcoin in Bolivia is to get better negotiation with IMF and World Bank. Accept Bitcoin or not, they won't be able to get better negotiation with IMF or World Bank if their national bank and economy are not improved and better in assessments of IMF and World Bank.

El Salvador had to spend their national budget to invest in Bitcoin since 2021 but El Salvador made it legal tender in their nation years ago too. Will Bolivia wantto do the same like El Salvador, legal tender approval for Bitcoin by their national law and want to achieve improvement like El Salvador. In fact I believe that changes in El Salvador come from more efforts of their government to improve their society, economy, not only legal tender for Bitcoin and national investment for Bitcoin.

[bbc.reporter]

@SquirrelJulietGarden. The IMF and the World Bank grant loans to country's governments and very much similar to corporations with their own interests, the World Bank and the IMF also have their own interests and agendas on a country they grant loans to. This is usually to the disadvantage of the borrower because they are forced to compromise to the demands of the World Bank and the IMF. The demand is usually more control over a country's currency and it is very clear that the borrower is always the loser in this setting.

However, how does a country get some negotiating power on their side of the negotiating table? I reckon this is to allow a currency that the World Bank and the IMF can never control. This is bitcoin.

I also never argued that making bitcoin legal tender will cause an economy of a country to improve. I said it might be good for the government on the negotiating table against the IMF and World Bank.

[nullama]

~snip~
Sounds like some kind of rubbish. So bitcoin is half legal?

Basically this means that Bitcoin in Bolivia is now seen as how it is seen in, say, the US, or Australia, or most of the developed world.

Being legal tender means that you have to accept it for payment of debts.

Right now you don't have to accept Bitcoin if you have a debt, but for example in El Salvador where it is legal tender, you can pay any debts with Bitcoin, and it is legally enforceable.

[Lucius]

Why are people so obsessed with making Bitcoin legal tender when it in itself has no positive effect at all? The example of El Salvador has shown that it is completely counterproductive to force people to use BTC and that Bitcoin as a currency works far better where it is available as an alternative.

Except for a few countries in the world where Bitcoin is prohibited by law, in most countries there are no legal obstacles for anyone to enable payment with BTC for their goods or services, and even where it is prohibited, people still have the opportunity to make BTC transactions with each other without that they have to fear that their government will know about it.

What Bolivia has done does not mean anything special, because in a few years the government can change and return everything to the old way - that's how they do it in that part of the world.

[mirakal]

It took ten years for them to consider Bitcoin isn't scam or could harm them.

Honestly unbanning Bitcoin is already more than enough, it doesn't have to be accepted as a commodity or currency because it would make Bitcoin become more centralized since the government will regulate it.

It's only need a time to wait for other country to unban Bitcoin.

That’s true mate. Even if bitcoin is not seen as a legal tender, I think that’s still a big advantage for the citizens to access freely on bitcoin as their sole investment, without getting restricted by the government. Eventually, when other developed countries have started to accept bitcoin as a payment method, surely the Bolivia government will soon to follow, otherwise they will be left behind from other countries. But still, having bitcoin as an accepted asset is already good enough, people will now have chances to trade it freely.

[Casdinyard]

About time they did. Been a whole while since the country ever felt the fresh air of having cryptocurrencies around and this will certainly help boost crypto’s fame upwards, hoping this wouldn’t be another El Salvador though, cause what happened with that country is just a massive shame. From a country who loves bitcoin turned to a whole nation that despises it due to poor management. Although they didn’t specify that they’d boost and use bitcoin’s popularity or some shit, so I guess we’re clear on that one.

There seems to be a trend amongst countries and cities trying to integrate bitcoin and crypto in the economy only to end up making things worse for everyone cause now everyone in that place hates bitcoin and crypto, poor management and lack of foresight being one of the biggest culprits if I do say so myself.

In that regard, here’s to me hoping that this isn’t enough for people to start buying in to crypto. Don’t get me wrong. It’s cool, but of course it’s way better if we get a stronger narrative yeah?

[Emmanuelex]

That's good news. But I hope it wouldn't be like other countries that would lift it, and only to ban it again, as we have seen with some countries like Nigeria that lifted the ban on Bitcoin, only to ban it again. I hope Bolivia instead would continue to see the good in Bitcoin and fully accept it from now on. Good luck to them.

[Z-tight]

What Bolivia has done does not mean anything special, because in a few years the government can change and return everything to the old way - that's how they do it in that part of the world.

It is nothing special for the BTC network in general and also in the grand scheme of things, but i believe it is special for bitcoiners living in Bolivia, now they can overtly use and spend BTC, i know before they could do it p2p, but now it is legal for financial institutions in Bolivia to be involved in crypto tx's and it must feel good for them. You are right that they could ban it again, but until then.

[Lucius]

@Z-tight, I remembered an article about Bolivia from 2020 and managed to find it. According to what can be read in it, the authorities in that country were very strict in enforcing the law, so that some people who traded or promoted cryptocurrencies were arrested. It took a long time for things to change, but Bolivians are finally free to come out of the shadows. When I just think about what basic human rights some people have been waiting for for decades, then sometimes I think that I live in paradise.

Bolivia Essentially Banned Crypto but Blockchain Advocates Are Pushing Back

[MainIbem]

That's a bold step by the Bolivian government, though it took them long to retrace their steps. Well, this must be a relief to the bitcoin enthusiasts in Bolivia who have been secretly trading Bitcoin with fear of being charged by the Bolivian authorities, now they can all carry out transactions and people would be able to include Bitcoin as a payment option for their various businesses, it's a good news for them and I think the next step to be carried out by their government concerning this issue, is to release those that were held by the authorities due to the previous ban. The Bolivian government have made one of the best decision and gradually, every other government that's placed a ban on Bitcoin would begin to notice it's benefits and retrace their steps like Bolivia has done.

[Reatim]

It took ten years for them to consider Bitcoin isn't scam or could harm them.

Perhaps they realized bitcoin’s potential.

It is becoming more and more common now and more countries are adopting bitcoin so they must have felt they were being left behind lol

This shall be considered as baby steps and hopefully only the first of many. Soon after unbanning bitcoin should be support for it but, we’ll take what we can and be happy for bitcoin enthusiasts who live in Bolivia.

[Z-tight]

so that some people who traded or promoted cryptocurrencies were arrested. It took a long time for things to change, but Bolivians are finally free to come out of the shadows. When I just think about what basic human rights some people have been waiting for for decades, then sometimes I think that I live in paradise.

I read the article, thank you for sharing it. It is crazy that they arrested 60 people because they were undergoing training on how to invest in crypto, meanwhile the country said they were only prohibiting banks from involving itself in cryptocurrency tx's. I believe this is how things happen in many third world countries, there is almost no respect for basic human rights, and it is hard to trust that the government won't ban crypto again, but Bolivians can enjoy the freedom they have now.

[nullama]

~snip~
Perhaps they realized bitcoin’s potential.

It is becoming more and more common now and more countries are adopting bitcoin so they must have felt they were being left behind lol

This shall be considered as baby steps and hopefully only the first of many. Soon after unbanning bitcoin should be support for it but, we’ll take what we can and be happy for bitcoin enthusiasts who live in Bolivia.

Yeah, I think so.

Maybe they first weren't very aware of what it was and what were the consequences, but after a decade they could see that there was no negative of allowing normal transactions.

Good for them for realizing that and acting upon that information.