A South American nation is traversing the trail toward becoming a champion in cryptocurrency within the region.

Bolivians now have the chance to take a position in digital currency as considered one of the country’s leading financial institutions introduced a custody service dedicated to Tether’s stablecoin, USDT.

Bolivia Adopts Crypto

Bolivia, a rustic known for its diverse culture, is the most recent South American state to adopt cryptocurrency.

Considered one of its largest banks, Banco Bisa, recently opened a custody service facility exclusively for Tether. This marked the entry of cryptocurrency into the country’s financial sector. It became the third neighbor of Brazil and Argentina that embraced digital assets.

Bolivian Banco Bisa to launch custody services for leading #stablecoin $USDT.

Clients will have the opportunity to purchase, sell and transfer the coin. https://t.co/RCGZs4MQpo

— fintech-portal (@fintech_portal) October 28, 2024

The custody service will allow Bolivians to trade USDT, enabling the bank’s clients to purchase, dispose, and hold digital currency in a secure and controlled environment.

Banco Bisa Vice President Franco Urquidi disclosed that the bank’s latest offering focuses on security to offer its clients a protected environment to conduct their crypto trading.

Urquidi explained that any transaction should come from and conclude throughout the bank’s accounts, emphasizing that this move ensures that there may be control and oversight.

He added that Banco Bisa carries out а rigorous verification process for its clients.

Image: Eldeber.com

Government Supports The Recent Service

Bolivia’s financial regulatory agency Autoridad de Supervision del Sistema Financiero (ASFI) backed Banco Bisa in offering a custody service for crypto.

ASFI representative Yvette Espinoza explained that the brand new service will greatly profit Bolivians since it can give its residents a probability to take a position within the cryptocurrency market while abiding by financial regulations put in place to scale back the risks related to crypto.

It could possibly be recalled that Bolivia outlawed using cryptocurrencies in 2014. Authorities barred Bolivians from utilizing currencies that should not regulated by the state.

Ten years later, state authorities had a change of heart and decided to lift the ban to permit Bolivians to embrace cryptocurrency in the identical way it’s being adopted globally.

The state-run Banco Central de Bolivia defended the switch of stance, saying that the country desired to align itself with the crypto regulations in Latin America and uplift its economy by allowing recent types of investments.

Banco Central Joins The Bandwagon

Other than Bolivia, demand for cryptocurrency is increasing in other parts of South America.

Statistics showed that the variety of crypto users within the region went up by 16% in 2020, from only 6% in 2017, an indicator that digital assets are gaining a foothold in South America.

For instance, El Salvador, one other South American nation, recently decided to make Bitcoin its official national currency to spice up its financial industry.

Featured image from Atlas21, chart from TradingView