Bolivia Essentially Banned Crypto but Blockchain Advocates Are Pushing Back
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Loading... - Nikolas Cruz
- 03 Apr 2023
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Bolivia is one of the rare countries that has essentially banned cryptocurrency, but the nation's blockchain advocates aren't giving up.
Earlier this year, Bolivian blockchain engineer Mario Blacutt – previously known in crypto circles only as “Berzeck” –finally felt safe enough to reveal his name and come out as the creator of a new blockchain network.
Blacutt let down his guard after the left-wing government that had banned crypto fell in November 2019, and its leader, Evo Morales, fled to Mexico.
A year earlier, Blacutt had his bank accounts shut down and his credit card taken away. The banks cited a directive put out by Bolivia’s central bank (BCB) in 2014 prohibiting virtual currencies, and flagged funds received in Blacutt’s accounts via crypto exchanges Bitstamp and Bitinka. Blacutt was paid in cryptocurrency.
They said it was to protect me. This is a funny thing,” Blacutt said.
Even as many governments around the world embrace or at least regulate cryptocurrency, Bolivia is one of the rare countries that tried to stamp it out entirely.
A 2014 central bank circular technically only prohibited the use of crypto by banks and in commercial transactions or payments. But in 2017, Bolivian authorities arrested 60 individuals who were allegedly “undergoing training related to the investment of money in cryptocurrencies,” according to a statement released by the country’s financial authority ASFI. Read More..
