Bolivia's government is studying the integration of USDT into its financial system, Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza stated on Friday. Venezuela's Binance peer-to-peer market recorded USDT 1.389 billion in volumes between June 11 and July 13, according to estimates by economic consulting firm Ecoanalitica. An Argentine federal judge ordered the freezing of crypto wallets linked to the Libra token after police traced fund movements starting in May. Bolivia's move follows the Central Bank's June 2024 reversal of a 2020 crypto ban, driven by a severe foreign currency shortage. Venezuela's P2P volumes now rival the country's oil export revenues, representing 88% of central bank foreign currency sales in June. Argentina's investigation centers on eight wallets labeled 'Libra team' that consolidated nearly $57 million, with at least 10 transactions passing through Binance.
Bolivia Studies USDT Integration After Lifting 2020 Crypto Ban
Jose Gabriel Espinoza, Bolivia's Minister of Economy and Public Finance, stated on Friday that the government is studying the inclusion of USDT, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization. During a press conference, Espinoza clarified that Bolivia lacks a regulatory framework to allow these changes immediately, even as the Central Bank lifted a ban on operations servicing digital assets. Espinoza assessed that this measure was taken out of desperation and without further planning, as USDT took on a pivotal role as a dollar proxy to help Bolivia address a foreign-currency scarcity crisis. After the 2020 ban was lifted in June 2024, trading volumes rose over 600% in the first six months of 2025. Espinoza explained that a system in which USDT circulates with the U.S. dollar and the Bolivian boliviano was under consideration. Several elements would have to be in place first for this to happen in compliance with international standards.
Venezuela Binance P2P Volumes Reach $1.38 Billion in One Month
Alejandro Grisanti, Director and Founding Partner at Ecoanalitica, an economic consulting firm, announced that they had developed a new methodology to estimate the true size of Binance's national peer-to-peer market. According to Ecoanalitica's estimates, P2P trading volumes on Binance, Venezuela's most popular crypto platform, reached USDT 1.389 billion between June 11 and July 13, averaging nearly 44 million USDT per day. Grisanti highlighted that these numbers prove Binance "has moved beyond being a niche market to become one of the country's primary channels for buying and selling currency, reflecting the ongoing limitations of the traditional foreign exchange market." The volumes represent 88% of all foreign currency sales executed by the central bank in June and 75% of the country's monthly total oil exports.
Argentine Judge Freezes Wallets Tied to Libra Token After Police Tracing
Federal Judge Marcelo Martinez ordered the identification and freezing of a set of wallets linked to Libra after receiving a report from the Federal Police's Cybercrime Technical Department that reconstructed the trail of these through several crypto networks starting in May, according to a document reviewed by local media. The move scrutinized eight wallets labeled as "Libra team," which had direct involvement in the token launch after Argentina's President Javier Milei promoted it on social media. The report recorded the moves of these wallets, with four consolidating nearly $57 million into an address that was blocked and released by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, after it determined that the funds were no longer at risk of dissipation. The referenced wallet allegedly mixed funds using several other wallets. On May 10, there was a massive fund movement that funneled nearly 500K through an interoperability protocol into a Tron address. This wallet also tried to obfuscate its transactions, but out of 17 movements executed, at least 10 passed through Binance. Eight wallets are linked to Bybit, two to OKX, and two to Bitfinex.
FAQ
Why is Bolivia studying USDT integration into its financial system?
Bolivia is studying USDT integration to address a severe foreign currency scarcity crisis. Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza stated that USDT took on a pivotal role as a dollar proxy after the Central Bank lifted a 2020 ban on digital asset operations in June 2024. Trading volumes rose over 600% in the first six months of 2025 following the ban reversal.
How large is Venezuela's Binance P2P market compared to the country's oil exports?
Venezuela's Binance P2P market recorded USDT 1.389 billion in volumes between June 11 and July 13, according to Ecoanalitica estimates. These volumes represent 88% of all foreign currency sales executed by the central bank in June and 75% of the country's monthly total oil exports.
What wallets did the Argentine judge freeze in the Libra token investigation?
Federal Judge Marcelo Martinez ordered the freezing of eight wallets labeled as "Libra team" linked to the Libra token. The Federal Police's Cybercrime Technical Department traced fund movements starting in May, with four wallets consolidating nearly $57 million. At least 10 of 17 transactions from one wallet passed through Binance.
