30s Summary

Bolivia’s Banco Bisa has launched a service for Tether’s USDt stablecoin, allowing users to buy, sell, and transfer crypto through their bank accounts. The service has been approved by the country’s financial regulator and users will be authenticated to ensure secure transactions. The move comes after Bolivia lifted a ban on Bitcoin in 2024, resulting in a 100% increase in virtual asset trading. However, the country still lacks a formal tax system for crypto transactions.

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Crypto is getting more traction in Bolivia, a South American country, as a major bank has kicked off a service to handle Tether’s USDt stablecoin.

Banco Bisa in Bolivia has started a service for USDt (USDT) that lets customers buy, sell, and transfer crypto through their own bank. It basically aims to help users keep their assets, send them to their family, and make payments to people overseas.

Yvette Espinoza, from Bolivia’s financial regulator known as the Autoridad de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero (ASFI), has given the thumbs up to this service. She believes it supports customers in making safe crypto transactions within the country’s rules. Franco Urquidi, who heads the business section at Banco Bisa, confirmed that users will pass through a verification process to ensure their transactions are safely carried out.

In 2014, Bolivia had initially banned crypto, outlawing any non-government approved or regulated currency. The objective of the ban was to protect the nation’s currency and safeguard the public from losses due to uncontrollable currencies.

But Bolivia decided to lighten up on crypto in 2024. On June 28, Bolivia lifted its previous ban on BTC and moved towards allowing financial services to deal with digital assets. The move, per the Central Bank of Bolivia, was aimed at boosting the economy and aligning with the crypto rules of other Latin American countries. On September 27, the country reported a whopping 100% increase in virtual asset trading after the ban was lifted, with the bank recording an average of $15.6 million in crypto exchanges from July to September. However, there is still no formal tax system for crypto transactions in Bolivia.

Source: Cointelegraph