Bolivia is considering adding USDT to its national payment system

Bolivia’s economy minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza says the government is studying whether the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT can become part of the country’s payment system. For high-risk PSPs, the important bit is not the headline itself, but the regulatory plumbing: Bolivia still has to build the rulebook, and FATF anti-money-laundering requirements are already in the frame.

1. Espinoza said the government is evaluating how to implement the initiative, with the goal of allowing Tether’s USDT to circulate “as another currency,” alongside the boliviano and the US dollar.
2. Bolivia lifted its ban on cryptoassets, but the minister said the country still needs a full regulatory framework for the market. He said the new legislation must take into account international requirements on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.
3. Before any integration of USDT into the payment system, Bolivia will need rules for digital asset circulation that reflect recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
4. Espinoza also criticized the previous government’s use of USDT as an alternative to the US dollar during economic stress, saying that approach did not solve the underlying problems and only increased market instability.
5. Bolivia has been on FATF’s grey list since last summer, meaning it is under increased monitoring. That matters for payment providers because grey-listed jurisdictions tend to face tighter controls, more scrutiny from banking partners, and slower onboarding.

Dune analysts previously concluded that USDT and USDC have effectively stopped competing head-to-head and now occupy different niches: USDT dominates payments and settlement, while USDC is more often used by DeFi protocols. If Bolivia does move USDT into its formal payment rails, that fits the asset’s existing role rather than inventing a new one.