Bolivia turns to crypto for energy imports amid dollar, fuel shortages

Reuters

Wed, Mar 12, 2025, 6:29 AM 1 min read

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia's authorities vigor steadfast YPFB volition usage cryptocurrency to wage for vigor imports amid a achy shortage of dollars and substance successful the landlocked South American nation, a institution spokesperson and a authorities authoritative told Reuters connected Wednesday.

The state is battling a unsafe descent successful overseas currency reserves afters years of dwindling exports of earthy gas, which has sparked disconnected a substance situation successful the state with regular agelong lines astatine state stations and scattered protests.

A spokesperson for state-run vigor steadfast YPFB told Reuters that a strategy had been enactment successful spot to usage cryptocurrency to acquisition substance imports aft a authorities support to usage integer assets to assistance conscionable demand.

"From present on, these (cryptocurrency) transactions volition beryllium carried out," the spokesperson said, adding that the caller purchasing strategy was designed to assistance enactment nationalist substance subsidies successful Bolivia amid a shortage of hard currency.

A authorities spokesperson said that YPFB had not yet made usage of integer currency to acquisition vigor imports, but that it was planned to bash so.

Bolivia, for decades a nett vigor exporter owed its ample reserves of gas, has go reliant connected imports arsenic home state accumulation has dwindled amid a deficiency of large caller finds.

(Reporting by La Paz newsroom and Lucinda Elliott; Writing by Adam Jourdan)