The dollar drops to 16.41 bolivianos in the parallel market and USDT reaches 16.42 | El dólar baja hasta 16,41 bolivianos en el mercado paralelo y el USDT llega a 16,42

By Marco Antonio Belmonte, Visión 360:

Volatile Behavior

In some exchange houses the rate is variable, with sales offered at 16.70 bolivianos, 17, and even 17.35, while others have no supply.

La cotización del dolar en el mercado paralelo bajó y es variable. Foto: ABI

The dollar’s rate in the parallel market dropped and remains variable. Photo: ABI

The dollar in exchange houses dropped on Monday morning to as low as 16.70 bolivianos, and in the parallel market it was quoted at 16.41 bolivianos, while USDT was at 16.42 bolivianos. The government stated on Sunday that there is a downward trend, following the ban on Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) from conducting transactions with virtual assets.

In an inquiry carried out today at various currency exchange houses, it was verified that in one place the dollar was priced at 16.70 bolivianos, in another at 17 bolivianos, and in a third at 17.35 bolivianos. In two locations, they said they had no dollars for sale and that the price was still somewhat volatile, though it had slightly dropped to 17 bolivianos.

On the website www.dolarbluebolivia.click, it was reported in the morning that the parallel rate was at 16.41 bolivianos. However, at 12:34 p.m., the buying rate was 16.37 bolivianos and the selling rate was 16.43 bolivianos.

On the Binance platform, on Monday morning, the digital dollar USDT was valued at 16.42 bolivianos. On May 24, it had surpassed 17 bolivianos in the early hours, but after President Arce’s announcements, it dropped to 16.63 bolivianos.

Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro reported on Sunday that the value of USDT (Tether) or cryptocurrency dropped from 17.42 to 16.60 bolivianos after the government’s decision to prohibit YPFB from conducting cryptoasset transactions. At one point on Friday night, the value fell to 13.40 bolivianos, he added.

The use of USDT as an unofficial exchange rate indicator spread in a context of a temporary shortage of foreign currency in the financial system, due to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly’s refusal to approve new loans. “We have more than 1.8 billion dollars being held hostage due to political calculations,” the country’s finance chief denounced.

Amid the lack of physical dollars, digital platforms operating with cryptoassets began to be used as an alternative for transactions and exchange, and their rates spilled over into the parallel market.

The Minister explained that some cryptoasset operators artificially inflated the value of USDT, creating the perception that the real exchange rate was approaching 20 bolivianos per dollar.

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