Key Highlights
- Oobit now allows Bolivian users to spend USDT and other cryptocurrencies at 150 million Visa-enabled merchants.
- The launch comes amid Bolivia’s ongoing foreign currency shortage and growing crypto adoption.
- Users can pay directly from self-custodial wallets, with instant crypto-to-fiat conversion through Visa networks.
Oobit, a payments app, today officially launched its service in Bolivia, allowing users to use USDT and other cryptocurrencies from self-custodial wallets at over 150 million Visa-enabled stores.
According to the official announcement, this move comes amid an acute shortage of foreign currencies in the country. Bolivia’s foreign reserves fell from $12.7 billion in 2014 to below $200 million by mid-2025. The shortage of the dollar currency became a cause of concern for daily life activities and import requirements.
Following the lifting of a decade-long crypto ban through Resolution 082/2024, cryptocurrency adoption increased substantially, particularly the use of USDT.
Companies start using crypto as payment method
State-owned energy corporation YPFB began using crypto to pay for some fuel import deals. Several Toyota, BYD, and Yamaha franchises started to receive payments in USDT.
USDT liquidity in daily trades increased in Bolivian markets from $20,000 before the lifting of restrictions to $1 million post-restriction. Despite a significant rise of 630% in cryptocurrency trading activity, the lack of merchant acceptance remained one of the primary bottlenecks.
Oobit said its service addresses this issue by allowing users to make payments directly from self-custodial wallets, including MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and Phantom. The system converts stablecoins into local currency instantly through Visa’s payment network.
Oobit CEO compares USDT to dollar
Amar Adar, CEO and co-founder of Oobit, commented on the development, stating, “Bolivia did not choose crypto because of hype. They chose it because they needed a dollar and could not get one. USDT became that dollar. Oobit makes it spendable. This is not a product launch. This is infrastructure arriving at exactly the right moment.”
The company said the expansion is part of its broader push into Latin America, including Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. In Brazil, Oobit said its average active user transacts about $400 per month across roughly 20 transactions, with USDT being the most-used asset.
Platform linked to recent exploit
On May 24, Oobit suffered a major exploit, accounting for $13.5M across two of StablREuro’s smart contracts (EURR & USDR), which was flagged by ZachXBT. Following the incident, the platform blocked and froze part of the funds associated with the exploit.
It further shut down the off-ramp within two hours. Oobit further stated that neither user funds nor its internal systems were compromised at the time of the incident.
Usability remains a major challenge
Such a move is indicative of how stablecoins are being used in countries with limitations in their local currencies. Although crypto was a way of bypassing the scarcity of dollars, usability remained a major challenge.
Some of the challenges that could be associated with such a move include regulatory control, risk of losses from volatile cryptocurrencies, security of users’ wallets, and sustainability of the payment infrastructure. The success of Oobit’s service in Bolivia will be determined by factors like usage, merchant acceptance, volumes transacted, and the tolerance of regulators for such innovations.
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