Bolivia Ditches Chocolate for Crypto: USDT Adoption Marks Economic Pivot

Move over, cocoa—Bolivia's new addiction is dollar-pegged stablecoins. The Andean nation's embrace of Tether (USDT) signals a radical departure from traditional export reliance, with locals swapping commodities for crypto wallets.

Street vendors to supermarkets now display QR codes alongside price tags, cutting out boliviano middlemen. 'It's faster than counting change in a rainstorm,' quips one La Paz merchant—while dodging the 14% inflation hammering fiat holders.

Bankers hate this one trick. USDT's creep into daily transactions exposes the fragile state of Bolivia's financial infrastructure—no need for SWIFT when P2P apps bypass capital controls overnight. Watch for IMF eyebrows reaching ATH as dollarization goes decentralized.

Last laugh? The coca farmers hedging crop payments in stablecoins while Wall Street still struggles with 'blockchain, not Bitcoin.'

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino appreciates USDT’s success

Remarking on the same, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino took to X (formerly Twitter) and highlighted USDT’s deep integration into everyday financial transactions.

Source: Paolo Ardoino/X

The Central Bank of Bolivia reported that some products are now solely priced in USDT, reflecting increasing public confidence in stablecoins during times of economic instability.

This coincides with the crypto market pushing for a late-week recovery, network adoption continues to climb steadily.

According to recent data from Santiment, ethereum [ETH] leads with over 148 million holders, followed by Bitcoin [BTC] at 55 million.

Even memecoin Dogecoin [DOGE] boasts nearly 8 million holders, slightly edging out Tether, which stands at 7.79 million.

Source: Santiment/X

Jon Ma adds on to the fray

Artemis CEO Jon Ma chimed in, stating that while USDC may grow, Tether’s dominance could hold firm depending on broader market dynamics.

Source: Jon Ma/X

His remarks emphasize the importance of personal due diligence in analyzing stablecoin performance.

He further added, 

“Either way, crazy how profitable Tether is.”

Tether’s dominance in the stablecoin sector remains unshaken, supported by both market utility and strong financial metrics.

USDT current dynamics

Meanwhile, in just the first week of June, USDT recorded an impressive $132.97 billion in transaction volume, according to Visa’s on-chain analytics.

Artemis’ Jon Ma noted that while Circle’s 2025 EBITDA multiple might compress over time, Tether’s financial resilience remains clear.

Currently holding over 61% of the stablecoin market share, USDT has entrenched itself as crypto’s go-to hedge, offering liquidity, reliability, and widespread trust when it matters most.