Bolivia approves the use of crypto as payment for fuel trade.

[Z-tight]

They have moved really fast, from lifting the ban on crypto, to proposing to use it to pay for fuel imports, guess we can say that they have not only lifted the ban for the sake of it, but they have plans to be involved in the growing adoption of cryptocurrency by different countries.

It would be interesting to see the first trade that will happen with crypto and the cryptocurrency that the both parties will decide to use, it could be BTC or stablecoins, fingers crossed.

[Patikno]

It was reported that Bolivia's policy of using cryptocurrency for fuel exchange was due to a shortage of dollars and fuel, and it was also reported that one of the YPFB spokesmen said that the cryptocurrency usage system would be implemented, and personally I think that Bitcoin is the main one as included. From here I can conclude that several countries have begun to realize how much they need crypto as a means of payment, and I believe this is part of the progress of the crypto world, especially Bitcoin, I am not surprised that in the next few years Crypto will become more connected with various countries especially in government, it's just a matter of time.

Source : Reuters - Bolivia turns to crypto for energy imports amid dollar, fuel shortages

[aylabadia05]

Sooner or later everything can turn from a no to a yes. And vice versa.
Bitcoin can't change something that is logically possible, such as changing poverty. Bitcoin alternative currencies in the history of the world economy have positioned themselves as one of the systems that can restore public confidence.
Bolivia, hopefully, will find a solution to what they are facing according to this information.

[Donneski]

I love the fact that Bitcoin is now becoming more global than it's ever been. In the last three weeks, we've seen different governmental bodies including the US government which is the most powerful government of the world adopt policies that show their huge interest in Bitcoin. And now, Boliva have joined the list of countries that accepts Bitcoin as a legal tender in fuel transactions. This is a good news for Bitcoiners and the crypto community in general. This kind of news I think suggests that the next bull run will be too profitable to Bitcoiners as it promises to surpass the initial records

[Zoomic]

Now, this is what we are talking about. When fiat can't be used at the moment, Bitcoin comes to the rescue. This highlights one of the key use cases of crypto in a country's economy, not the exaggerated claims that crypto can single-handedly end poverty or resolve an economic crisis. I applaud the Bolivian government for recognizing crypto as a viable alternative for transactions. Soon, very soon, this will become the standard for every government as they embrace this perfect alternative.

[Lucius]

Does this news have anything or nothing to do with Bitcoin? Even if there are crypto transactions in fuel/oil trading, does anyone think they will be BTC transactions?

What the OP did not quote from the article is one very indicative fact, which is that something other than BTC is popular in that country.

Following the ban’s removal, crypto trading surged. Bolivia’s central bank reported a 105% increase in average monthly crypto trading between July and September 2024, reaching a total of $48.6 million in three months—surpassing the previous six months combined.

According to a Sept. 26 report from Banco Central de Bolivia (BCB), stablecoins dominated these transactions, reflecting a growing preference for digital assets as a hedge against economic uncertainty.

This thread would have been moved to the altcoins section if the Bolivian government had specified that stablecoins would be used for fuel import payments. The news said YPFB will be using cryptocurrencies.
~snip~

I know it's OT - but this is an exclusively Bitcoin discussion, so here should be topics that are exclusively related to Bitcoin - and this news doesn't mention it anywhere. What you don't take into account is that payments with BTC are often problematic due to its volatility (unless you use a payment processor), so it is unlikely that transactions (if any at all) will be in BTC.

[Saint-loup]

That's a good news because it can give some ideas to other countries of South America or even of other continents to use cryptocurrencies instead of USD if they want to stay away from American jurisdiction and influence, and don't want to use the money of another country either. Cryptos can lead to more sovereignty of poor or small countries in the end.

[Alphakilo]

It was an approval for crypto transactions, they didn't specifically labeled Bitcoin as the main crypto use in their crypto transactions that skyrocketed. For the other country like El Salvador which started using crypto, they made it known that they approved of Bitcoin as legal tender. Let Bolivia try to utilize more of Bitcoin than stable coins.

Even if they don't mention Bitcoin specifically, yet we know that it is a positive news.

The only way I will see it as a negative is if the cryptocurrency they are referring to is a government backed currency

It is not everyone that holds only bitcoin. And when there is crypto options for payments, bitcoin is one of them. I believe that I will read the second part of the report when the people of Bolivia starts to actually use the crypto for payment and effects it will have.

[SamReomo]

Bolivia might not have a big economy, but it seems we are seeing an example of a nation that is using crypto as an alternative to the dollar.

Yes, Bolivia isn't a big economy but still they have taken a good initiative to purchase fuel using crypto in order to preserve their US dollar reserves. I believe such act can help them to have more dollars in reserve which might be helpful for their economy and at the same time citizens of that country will get more attention towards cryptocurrencies.

[BALIK]

It was reported that Bolivia's policy of using cryptocurrency for fuel exchange was due to a shortage of dollars and fuel, and it was also reported that one of the YPFB spokesmen said that the cryptocurrency usage system would be implemented, and personally I think that Bitcoin is the main one as included. From here I can conclude that several countries have begun to realize how much they need crypto as a means of payment, and I believe this is part of the progress of the crypto world, especially Bitcoin, I am not surprised that in the next few years Crypto will become more connected with various countries especially in government, it's just a matter of time.

Source : Reuters - Bolivia turns to crypto for energy imports amid dollar, fuel shortages

According to the article provided by OP, The Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) also emphasized that stablecoins are dominating their trading activity, not Bitcoin or highly volatile altcoins. This shows that they tend to use crypto as an alternative to traditional payment methods but they are also very concerned about risks such as crypto volatility. So I don't think Bitcoin will be the first choice and even if it happens, Bitcoin is unlikely to be used more than other coins, especially stablecoins.

It is clear that when it comes to payment methods, stablecoins are dominating over bitcoin or altcoins.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Bolivia has been implementing a cryptocurrency ban for almost a decade and now they are starting to realize that in this era of super-fast transactions, transactions are a crucial point in economic progress. As the second poorest country in the US, Bolivia must be able to get out of this threat zone, the policy of the Bolivian Central Bank is very important because their only largest foreign exchange is in the gas sector by offering cryptocurrency payment options will boost their economic growth a little.

Emphasis mine.
"second poorest country in the US"? Um, Bolivia in not part of the US and in fact, entirely wrong continent & hemisphere....

[Reatim]

Due to shortage in dollars Bolivia has approved the use of cryptocurrencies to pay for imported fuel.

i think that this is exactly what should be the use of cryptocurrency and i am glad that they have realized that crypto is not just about making profit but it can also be useful for international trades

Bolivia lifted the ban on Bitcoin last year and now the country has seen the importance of the currency. The state owned oil company
Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) has put infrastructure in place to facilitate crypto payments.

good to hear that there is a country that is willing to retrace their steps and analyze what is the best for their country and is willing to correct whatever decisions they have made before i hope this helps their economy even if just a little bit

[d5000]

This thread would have been moved to the altcoins section if the Bolivian government had specified that stablecoins would be used for fuel import payments. The news said YPFB will be using cryptocurrencies.

I've looked into Bolivian media, and there is for example this article (in Spanish) explaining some of the details of the planned operations, and some problems related to it.

Indeed it seems that a stablecoin -- USDT is mentioned in the article -- will be used to pay for the fuel.

The article mentions some problems with this arrangement: the USDT <-> Boliviano liquidity seems to be small, so the price of USDT is high, as high as the "black market" exchange rate and more than 50% above the official rate. This means that the best strategy for YPFB would be to buy dollars on the official market, exchange them to USDT, and then pay for the fuel with the USDT.

Probably the advantage is that the "real" dollars stay inside the Bolivian market, as the USDT <-> USD traders on Bolivian exchanges are very likely to be Bolivians too. However, this means that USDT are leaving the country, which may be needed to sustain this operation long term ...

So I guess this is only a temporary measure to gain time, as both the fuel shortage and the USD shortage seem to be short term issues (for now, at least).

btw: I personally am okay with this thread living in this section, as the resolution indeed didn't specify the cryptocurrency.

[BlackBoss_]

Indeed it seems that a stablecoin -- USDT is mentioned in the article -- will be used to pay for the fuel.

The article mentions some problems with this arrangement: the USDT <-> Boliviano liquidity seems to be small, so the price of USDT is high, as high as the "black market" exchange rate and more than 50% above the official rate. This means that the best strategy for YPFB would be to buy dollars on the official market, exchange them to USDT, and then pay for the fuel with the USDT.

Not sure why Bolivia government chose USDT, but did not choose USDC. USDT has more attention and also attacks from governments globally and it is a risky stable coin to add in your portfolio now.

The exchange rate is too high, it's an interesting information and sometimes showing that stable coins are not stable. I know exchange rate is different than peg to fiat currency value, but it's interesting to see exchange rate of USDT sometimes is higher than exchange rate of USD in local markets.

USDT like many other stable coins are risky, not truly stable and they can de-peg and can be seized in your wallets.
Stable coins: a deep dive into valuation and depegging.
Most Stablecoins Can Be Frozen, Even in Your Own Wallets

[pooya87]

What worries me in moves like this is that they say "crypto" not "bitcoin" which means that they think all cryptocurrencies are viable and not just bitcoin. Then they start using some shitcoins, specially the biggest risk is using stablecoins, and when they suddenly lose a lot of money because that shitcoin got hacked or 51% attacked or something like that, they suddenly ban everything again including bitcoin!

[Swordsoffreedom]

Now, this is what we are talking about. When fiat can't be used at the moment, Bitcoin comes to the rescue. This highlights one of the key use cases of crypto in a country's economy, not the exaggerated claims that crypto can single-handedly end poverty or resolve an economic crisis. I applaud the Bolivian government for recognizing crypto as a viable alternative for transactions. Soon, very soon, this will become the standard for every government as they embrace this perfect alternative.

Although bitcoin is a part and plays the most important role in the cryptocurrency industry, but we need to distinguish that bitcoin is bitcoin, it does not represent or resemble the rest of the market. In Bolivia's case, they have embraced cryptocurrencies and prioritized stablecoins for trading, not bitcoin. So I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that bitcoin came to rescue them.

Furthermore, what most people are waiting for and interested in is bitcoin being used as an alternative to fiat in some cases, not stablecoins or centralized altcoins.

[notocactus]

Although bitcoin is a part and plays the most important role in the cryptocurrency industry, but we need to distinguish that bitcoin is bitcoin, it does not represent or resemble the rest of the market. In Bolivia's case, they have embraced cryptocurrencies and prioritized stablecoins for trading, not bitcoin. So I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that bitcoin came to rescue them.

Furthermore, what most people are waiting for and interested in is bitcoin being used as an alternative to fiat in some cases, not stablecoins or centralized altcoins.

Bitcoin is a strongest cryptocurrecy, the most successful one, the best in blockchain security against network attacks. Additionally, in market cap, Bitcoin has very high domination in cryptocurrency market and I want to note down one important about correlation between Bitcoin and altcoins.

Bitcoin domination is really high, and actually bigger than what you see in its dominance. Because new altcoins launched with new, and surely big capital added into cryptocurrency market are very biased factors. Without newly created altcoins and their contributive market caps, you can see Bitcoin dominance becomes bigger with time.

Reason is simple, altcoins die with time or altcoin values against bitcoin drop with time. A classic example is Ethereum in their ETH/BTC trading pair according to Trading view with 1-month chart.
https://www.tradingview.com/chart/?symbol=BINANCE%3AETHBTC

ETH value in ETH/BTC pair is hitting its lowest since December 2020.

[woez]

With what they have done may cause others to also do the same thing which accept Bitcoin as other mode of payment which is good for bitcoin network. If bolivia unbanned bitcoin is good news for the people who live there but the government there could state that they have a specific crypto that they want to use with the transactions like stable coins for example which will make their decision much stronger in using stable coins since it has low volatility compared to other crypto.

Anything can be used whether BTC or USDT the most important thing is that a conscious effort has been born from the government there that the transaction model using alternative payments using crypto will be very familiar later in various countries and will also be a source of pride for those who are the first to adopt it, Many countries will study comparative studies on governance so that it is appropriate and on target.

[Cryptohygenic]

It is a welcomed development atleast it is a plus one expansion to bitcoin industry but I am thinking that this there are things they are not making opened to us.
Dollar as the first does not have limited supply, so how come did they run out of dollars for their foreign exchanges of goods and services?
However, I am thinking these people has been investing on bitcoin indoors without letting it be publicly known because the market has not been impressive as at when the proposal was made and implemented following just after lifting the ban on bitcoin in it place.
Running out of dollar even seem understatement, their fiats values must had devalued due to economy downfall and has become valueless when exchange to the USD and if they would have to pay with the fiats it will require them much on exchange so paying with bitcoin since it is a universal currency seem the beY option for them.
We hope to see more of this and that will be how the bitcoin community will gradually expand.

[Moreno233]

Due to shortage in dollars Bolivia has approved the use of cryptocurrencies to pay for imported fuel. Bolivia lifted the ban on Bitcoin last year and now the country has seen the importance of the currency. The state owned oil company
Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) has put infrastructure in place to facilitate crypto payments.

Bolivia might not have a big economy, but it seems we are seeing an example of a nation that is using crypto as an alternative to the dollar.

https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto/bolivia-authorizes-state-oil-company-crypto-fuel-trade/

This is a step in the right direction and I feel happy seeing government use Bitcoin for the primary purpose for which it was created which is as an alternative that solves the problem of accessibility, flexibility and freedom. With Bitcoin, they won't bother if there is shortage of dollar or anything, and by the time they see how Bitcoin can help in this regard, they will expand the use of Bitcoin in their country. Well, it is great to see that Bolivia is seeing Bitcoin beyond holding but from the angle of use case. Maybe they might also consider investing in it in the future but for now, let them enjoy the power that Bitcoin has over fiat system.