BancoBisa,oneofBolivia’slargestbanks,announcedlastweekthelaunchofitscryptocustodyservice,makingitthefirstregulatedfinancialinstitutioninthecountrytodoso.
SolelysupportingthestablecoinTether(USDT),theserviceenablescustomerstobuy,sell,andtransfercryptodirectlythroughtheirbankaccounts,localmediareportedThursday.
ItfollowsaweakeningcurrencyinAndeancountries.Lastmonth,inflationinthecountryhititshighestpointinnearly10years,drivingupthedemandforU.S.dollars.
BancoBisa’svicepresidentofbusiness,FrancoUrquidi,toldlocalpressatthetimethefunctionwouldallowpeopletosendmoneytorelativesabroad.
“Ourclientsgothrougharigorousverificationprocess,givingthempeaceofmindthattheirtransactionsarecarriedoutthroughsecureandreliablechannels,”Urquidisaid,peraroughtranslationoflocalmediareports.
TheserviceallowscustomerstostoreUSDTindefinitely,transferfundsabroad,andfacilitatepaymentsforfamilymembersstudyingoverseas.
USDTisthelargeststablecoinbymarketcapitalizationandthebackboneofthecryptoeconomy,mainlybecauseitissowidelyusedbytraderstoenterandexittrades.
Stablecoinsareatypeofdigitaltokenpeggedtoacurrencyorcommodity—typicallyU.S.dollarsorgold.
It’sunclearwhetherBancoBisa’sservicewillbeavailableforeverydaytransactionsatlocalmerchants.Thebankdidnotimmediatelyrespondtoarequestforcomment.
Inanycase,theservicestartsat200USDTuptoadailylimitof10,000USDT,withfeesrangingbetween35(US$5.07)and100bolivianos($US14.48).TransferstoU.S.dollaraccountsabroadincurachargeof280bolivianos(US$40.55),perthereports.
ByLatinAmericanstandards,Boliviaisaquietnationintermsofcryptoadoption:Bitcoinminersaren’teyeingupthelandlockedcountryliketheyareinParaguay,andtheassetclass’receptionisnothingcomparedtoneighboringBrazilorArgentina.
Thecountryalsodoesn’treceiveanywhereneartheamountofcryptoviaremittancesthatothernationsintheregiondo,Chainalysishasfound.
EditedbySebastianSinclair
decrypt.co