Bolivian president-elect Rodrigo Paz plans to tackle corruption in his country’s government using blockchain technology.
The Associated Press reported Paz beat rival Jorge Quiroga 54.5% to 45.5% on Monday and is set to take office on November 8. Paz won Sunday’s runoff with a one-cent, pro-market message and inherits an economy strained by fuel shortages and a dollar US dollar, according to the AP.
For crypto watchers, Paz’s government plan included Two concrete proposals related to digital assets and blockchain.
Blockchain Joins Bolivia’s Reform Process
The first is a plan to use blockchain and smart contracts in public procurement. The official program of the Christian Democrat Party promised the application of blockchain technologies and the use of smart contracts to remove discretion from state procurement. The proposal aims to deal with corruption in state procurement by automating certain contract processes.
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The second is a program to let citizens declare crypto assets in a new foreign-exchange stabilization fund, seeded by an asset settlement arrangement that clearly lists crypto. Such funds are reserve pools used to preserve currency and pay for essential imports when US dollars are scarce, according to the US Treasury Department. Along with crypto is expanding what the government can tax or quickly convert into hard currency without holding volatile tokens.
Paz looks crypto-pragmatic, but not a bitcoin (BTC) Max. His platform frames blockchain as an anti-corruption tool and treats declared crypto assets as part of a one-off regularized asset push to achieve a currency stabilization fund. There is still no evidence of a policy to adopt BTC at the national level, hold it in reserves or to launch retail legalization.
Bolivia has embraced digital currency payments
Cointelegraph has been tracking Bolivia’s crypto policy since 2024. The country’s central bank, the Banco Central de Bolivia, An operating ban has been lifted In crypto transactions in June 2024, allowing regulated electronic channels and signing a modernization of payments. Months later, average monthly digital asset trading Double the previous 18-month averagethe bank said.
The transition continued in the real economy. In October 2024, Banco Bisa launched the USDT (USDT) caution for institutions, A first mover in Bolivian banks. In March, state oil firm YPFB was reported crypto exploration For energy imports amid a US dollar shortage. By September, local distributors of auto brands, including Toyota, Yamaha and Byd accepted USDT, reflecting increasing merchant-side experimentation.
On July 31, the Central Bank Signed a memorandum with El Salvador. The bank said monthly crypto trading volume reached $46.8 million per month and $294 million year-to-date on June 30.
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