El Salvador Leads the Charge: Helping Bolivia Craft Groundbreaking Crypto Regulations

El Salvador—the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender—is now exporting its crypto expertise. The pioneer is assisting Bolivia in drafting what could become Latin America's next major digital asset framework.

Why it matters: Bolivia banned private crypto transactions in 2014. Now, with hyperinflation crushing the boliviano, even socialist governments are turning to decentralized solutions. Irony tastes better with 12% annual inflation.

The playbook: Expect Salvadoran-style infrastructure blueprints—lightning network integration, volcano-powered mining, and yes, more Chivo wallets. Because when traditional finance fails, you might as well mine coins next to a lava flow.

Wall Street take note: While hedge funds debate ETF approvals, developing nations are rewriting monetary policy in real time. The 'unbanked' just became crypto's most valuable demographic.

Fostering Adoption

The Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) has signed an agreement with El Salvador’s National Commission for Digital Assets (CNAD), through which it will convey its experience and knowledge, aiding Bolivia’s efforts to create a regulatory framework for digital assets.

The memorandum of understanding will facilitate cooperation between the two institutions, promoting the exchange of technical and regulatory expertise, including blockchain intelligence tools, risk analysis, and other relevant areas.

It has taken effect immediately and will remain in practice indefinitely, solidifying the inertia of digital assets as a suitable and trustworthy alternative to fiat, especially for families and new entrepreneurs.

The arrangement, which was signed by Juan Carlos Reyes García, President of CNAD, and Edwin Rojas Ulo, Acting President of the BCB, marks a significant step forward for Bolivia, which will stand to benefit from El Salvador’s familiarity with cryptocurrency and the underlying regulation, fostering an ecosystem of adoption and growth.

The landlocked country of Bolivia has experienced significant growth in the digital asset space since the issuance of Decree 082/2024 last year. The usage of these assets has skyrocketed from $46.5 million in June 2024 to $294 million in June of this year.

The Central Bank of Bolivia concluded its announcement with the following words:

“We reaffirm our commitment to develop policies that modernize the financial system and deepen financial inclusion.”

Leading By Example

The CNAD, El Salvador’s digital asset regulatory body, has emerged as a key player in the country’s innovation, security, and compliance within the cryptocurrency space.

This is further reflected in their impressive rates of acceptance of crypto assets, dating back to 2021, when their Bitcoin Law was passed, shortly followed by the leading cryptocurrency becoming a legal tender.

That same year, the Central American country began mining BTC using their abundant volcanoes to power the efforts, along with separately purchasing it as well. At the time of printing, they hold 6,246 Bitcoins, valued at roughly $740.33 million, according to data from BitBo.

Further development milestones can be attributed to Bitfinex launching tokenized US Treasury bills and the gargantuan stablecoin issuer Tether relocating its operations in the country.

With its pro-innovation approach, the country is now recognized as one of the most advanced in Latin America in terms of regulation and embrace of digital assets.