Back to Markets
Crypto▲ Bullish
Bolivia drops dollar peg; crypto volumes surge 530%
Bolivia's 15-year dollar peg ended in May, sending crypto volumes through formal channels up 530% year-over-year. Three banks now offer USDT services, suggesting institutional demand may outlast the immediate hedging catalyst.
Continue with
Bolivia abandoned its 15-year-old fixed exchange rate on May 5, ending a peg that had been more fiction than policy for months. Economy Minister José Gabriel Espinoza announced the shift to a flexible, market-driven regime. The central bank's official reference rate had already crept above 10 bolivianos per dollar. In the parallel market, where most real trading happened, the rate was running near 12.9 to 13.1 bolivianos per dollar by late 2025.
The fixed peg of roughly 6.96 per dollar had been workable when reserves stood above $15 billion in 2014. Those reserves have since drained to a fraction of that level, leaving the central bank unable to defend the rate. The decision is part of a broader stabilization push that includes potential engagement with the IMF.
Bolivia lifted a decade-long ban on virtual assets in June 2024 through Central Bank Board Resolution No. 082/2024. The impact was immediate. Crypto transaction volumes through formal channels jumped from $46.5 million in the first half of 2024 to $294 million in the first half of 2025. That is a 530% year-over-year increase. By April 2026, three Bolivian banks were offering USDT-related services. The central bank also signed a memorandum of understanding with El Salvador's National Commission for Digital Assets in 2025.