On May 30, Bolivian authorities arrested 60 ‘cryptocurrency promoters’. Seems like the swan song of cryptocurrency markets in the country.
Bolivia has always been hostile towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, as the government didn’t want any uncontrolled currency in the market. They prohibited the use of any cryptocurrencies back in 2014, having motivated their ban by their wish to protect the Bolivian national currency, the boliviano.
It seemed bad enough from the start as most of the population of Bolivia is unbanked or underbanked. Cryptocurrency might significantly simplify money transfers for them. However, Bitcoin is not regulated by the government, which is obviously undesirable for Bolivian authorities.
Continuous Repressions
The complete ban of cryptocurrency, however, was not the last drop in the Bolivian government hunt for bitcoin. Now they ban not only using Bitcoins, but also merely talking about it on social networks. Sounds much like tyranny, doesn't it?