Bolivia is going through a tough energy crisis due to currency ‘shortage, and the Government sees in the stablecoins a solution to import fuel and alleviate the situation.
The state Bolivian fiscal oil deposits (YPFB) plans to use cryptoactive to pay these imports, in a context in which the reserves of dollars have collapsed after years of fall in natural gas exports, as Cryptonoticia reported in recent days.
For economist Jaime Dunn, financial analyst with broad recognition in Bolivia, the cryptocurrency chosen by YPFB will probably be USD Tether (USDT), a parity stablecoin 1: 1 with the US dollar, issued by the Tether Limited company. In comments to cryptonoticia, Dunn said that this will be due to the high liquidity and transaction volumes that that stablecoin has.
USDT is positioned as the largest market stable thanks to its wide volume of transactions and liquidity, characteristics that make it a reliable option for international operations. According to Coinmarketcap data, USDT exceeds other stablocoins such as USDC and DAI in market capitalization, reaching more than 144,000 million dollars until March 2025. Its mass adoption in exchanges and its integration into global payment systems reinforce its domain, Despite past debates about the transparency of their reservesan aspect that the company has worked to clarify with regular audits.
If the use of USDT by YPFB is true, which has not been confirmed by the official part, once again the total opening towards stable cryptocurrencies would be demonstrated as a tool to face the lack of foreign exchange. This is not a minor issue, since this is something that Luis Arce has supported for several months, marking a change compared to the years prior to the lifting of the prohibition of cryptoactive.
The country, which for decades was a net exporter of energy, now depends on fuel imports due to the decrease in its gas production, which has generated long lines in service stations and scattered protestsas Cryptonoths reported.
The shortage of dollars further complicates purchases abroad, and the Arce government has resorted to digital alternatives to sustain fuel subsidies.
In August 2024, the president announced the implementation of a Payment catwalk with cryptoactive, focused on Stablecoinsto boost the flow of foreign exchange and strengthen the international payment system, as this medium reported.
This decision came after the repeal of the prohibition of cryptocurrencies, in force since 2020, a step towards financial modernization in the midst of the crisis in that country.
Banks in the middle
Jaime Dunn explains the mechanism that YPFB could use for these operations. It details that, although it is true that the state oil company would need dollars to acquire USDT, It is likely that Banco Uniónthe greatest of that nation, gets involved. He considers that this entity «would give dollars to exporters to acquire USDT, and then would sell them to YPFB.»
«An option would be for YPFB to buy dollars at the official exchange rate, although this would imply financial losses if compared to the parallel market,» he said, and then stressed: «Most likely, Banco Unión buy the USDT to sell to sites later, in Bolivians, at parallel price.»
This approach, says Dunn, allows YPFB to register the purchase of an asset at a value of 12 Bolivians per unit, avoiding reflecting the loss of the official exchange rate.
In Bolivia, as in other Latin American countries, such as Argentina and Venezuela, the US dollar has two quotes. The first, established by the central banks, and the second, established by the market.
Thus, currently 1 dollar is quoted by the order of the 7.9 Bolivians at the official rate. To the parallel, The change is approximately 12 Bolivians for each green ticket.
A living example of redolarization
However, the use of USDT by Bolivia is not an isolated case, but a living example of the redolarization observed in the world through Stablocoins that maintain parity with the US dollar.
Cryptootics has reported how these digital currencies, such as USDT and USDC, have become Key tools for countries with hit economies for the lack of currency, such as Venezuela and Argentina, where they facilitate international trade against financial restrictions.
In Bolivia, the commitment to stable cryptocurrencies seeks to overcome the dependence of physical dollars, a strategy that Dunn considers logical:
«I think the most relevant thing about the operation is that YPFB intends to buy USDT saying the logical, the real, that they are not buying dollars,» he said. Thus, the country adds to a global trend where Stablecoins act as bridges for transactions in a context of monetary crisis.
This redolarization finds support even on the other side of the hemisphere, in the United States, where the Donald Trump government has shown explicit support to the stablcoins.
Through an executive order signed on January 23, 2025, Trump ordered the creation of a working group to propose regulations on digital assets and evaluate a national reserve, with an emphasis on promoting stablcoins backed by the dollar, according to Cryptonoticias.
The objective, according to the text, is «to promote the development and growth of legitimate stablocoins backed by the dollar worldwide», consolidating the sovereignty of the American currency. The measure seeks to position the US as a leader in digital asset innovation, a vision that contrasts with the efforts of countries such as those of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) for reducing the global domain of the dollar.
In Bolivia, the adoption of USDT by YPFB not only responds to an immediate need, but illustrates how Stablecoins can serve as indirect redolarization instruments.
This pragmatic approach, forced by the crisis, puts the South American country in the global radar as a case study. While BRICS nations drive alternatives such as Chinese Yuan or own payment systems, Bolivia demonstrates that redolarization, even through cryptoactive, Keep advancing out of necessity.
The Arce Government, when hugging the stablecoins, offers a clear example of how technology can mold the economic future, even in geopolitical tensions that seek to move to the dollar in the center of the world scene.