PANews reported on March 12 that according to CoinDesk, citing Reuters, Bolivia's state-owned energy company YBFB will use cryptocurrencies to pay for energy imports. YBFB hopes that the use of cryptocurrencies can directly solve the country's shortage of US dollars and foreign exchange reserves.

Bolivia has seen scattered protests over a fuel crisis caused by insufficient gas exports, exacerbated by a shortage of foreign exchange. A YBFB spokesman said: "From now on, these (cryptocurrency) transactions will take place."

This is not the first time a South American state-owned energy company has ventured into cryptocurrency; in 2023, Argentina’s YPF announced its foray into cryptocurrency mining, while last April, Venezuela’s PDVSA revealed it was using cryptocurrencies to combat U.S.-imposed oil sanctions.