Without diesel subsidies and with a shortage of dollars, Bolivia protests and adopts USDT

• Sectors aligned with Evo Morales demand the reversal of decrees from President Rodrigo Paz.
• In the face of a lack of foreign currency, traditional banks are mass-selling stablecoins.

Bolivia is going through a period of high political and economic tension marked by a structural shortage of foreign currency and the recent elimination of the state subsidy for diesel.

The decision of President Rodrigo Paz's government, executed through Supreme Decree 5716, triggered immediate rejection from certain political sectors and social organizations.

From Lauca Ñ, supporters of former President Evo Morales issued a statement demanding the repeal of the measure, as well as Supreme Decree 5727, which they accuse of promoting the liquidation of public companies.

Under the warning of initiating a large national mobilization to block the country, the leadership stated that energy policy must be reversed, in a context where political figures, such as alternate senator Nilton Condori, publicly urged the removal of the current government elite.

As the conflict in the streets escalates due to rising fuel prices, the Bolivian population is simultaneously facing the collapse of the purchasing power of their local currency.

After years of illiquidity, dollar deposits in the financial system fell to 7.5%. The official exchange rate remains frozen at 6.96 bolivianos, but in the banking market, the quote reaches 12.02 bolivianos and in the informal parallel market it approaches 13.50.

In the face of sustained real devaluation and savings accounts in local currency that barely yield 1.04% annually against inflation, savers have suffered a loss of purchasing power exceeding 40% in just twelve months.

In this scenario of a de facto corralito on physical reserves, the population and the formal financial system found an operational escape route: the massive adoption of the stablecoin USDT.

Traditional banks abandoned efforts to attract greenbacks and transformed capital flight into a new business model. CriptoNoticias reported that entities such as Banco Unión, Banco FIE, and Banco BISA sealed alliances with payment processors like EFY Finance and Lirium to offer direct sales of USDT through their digital channels.

The system allows citizens to convert bolivianos to digital dollars assuming commissions and the exchange differential, with daily limits that, in the case of applications like Yasta, are set at 8,250 bolivianos.

According to data from the Central Bank of Bolivia, 86% of users of these banking platforms are individuals seeking to safeguard their assets. However, the volume channeled by formal banking is only a fraction of the total ecosystem.

The use of digital assets in informal commerce pushed Bolivia to transact more than 14.8 billion dollars in crypto assets between July 2024 and July 2025, according to Chainlaysis data, integrating USDT as a vital tool for remittances and imports.

Even the automotive sector, with manufacturers like Toyota, BYD, and Yamaha, enabled payments with this stablecoin in the country.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, recently emphasized that the digital asset serves as an essential lifeline against inflation and capital controls in Latin America.

As the state loses the ability to guarantee physical liquidity and contain demands for energy subsidies, private digital dollarization consolidates as the new monetary infrastructure of Bolivia.

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