Bolivia prohibits state-owned oil companies from using cryptocurrency for energy procurement settlement

According to Bitcoin.com, Bolivian President Luis Arce has signed an executive order prohibiting the use of cryptocurrency assets for energy procurement settlements. The order was issued on May 23rd, mainly targeting state-owned oil company YPFB, aiming to curb speculative behavior of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins on cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance. YPFB President Armin Dorgathen stated that the company has never used cryptocurrency for transactions before, due to reasons such as the lack of acceptance of cryptocurrency assets in the oil industry and inadequate regulatory frameworks. Previously, there were reports that YPFB was considering using cryptocurrency to settle energy payments due to foreign exchange shortages, but this administrative order will eliminate this possibility in the short term.