Is crypto legal in Bolivia? Regulation & rules (2026)

BCB Resolution 082/2024 (25 June 2024) repealed the 2020 prohibition (Res. 144/2020), enabling the use of electronic channels and electronic payment instruments to buy and sell virtual assets, coordinated among the BCB, ASFI and the UIF.

The BCB stresses the Boliviano is the only legal-tender currency; virtual assets are neither legal tender nor cash, no one is obliged to accept them, and users bear all risks.

ASFI Resolution ASFI/540/2025 (3 July 2025) issued the Regulation for Financial Technology Companies, defining Virtual Asset Service Providers (PSAV) and creating a Controlled Testing Environment (regulatory sandbox) of up to 12 months (extendable to 36).

The compliance/application deadline for fintechs and crypto-exchange operators was extended from 31 December 2025 to 30 April 2026; as of late 2025 only a handful of firms had filed letters of intent and none had entered the sandbox.

On 26 November 2025 the Economy Minister authorized banks to custody crypto and offer digital-asset-based savings, cards and loans; Banco Bisa launched Bolivia's first regulated USDT custody service in October 2024.

Virtual-asset transaction value rose from about USD 46.5M to USD 430M between mid-2024 and mid-2025 (a ~630% jump), driven largely by a dollar shortage and use of stablecoins like USDT.