Virtual asset regulation and tokenization in Bolivia

In Bolivia, a business seeking to provide virtual asset services must distinguish payment channel use from provider authorisation. Opening those channels permits previously restricted operations but does not itself grant a financial licence.

The Financial Technology Company framework includes blockchain and tokenized asset services. A project must identify its activity, adaptation stage and the involvement of ASFI, the BCB or another competent authority.

How to move from payment channels to provider authorisation

BCB Board Resolution 082/2024 of 25 June repealed Resolution 144/2020 and opened electronic payment channels and instruments for buying and selling virtual assets. This concerns transaction channels: it does not itself license custody of customer funds, securities issuance or every financial service.

Supreme Decree 5384 of 7 May 2025 regulates Financial Technology Companies, FTCs, including blockchain, tokenized-asset and virtual asset service provider, VASP, services. Its scope covers companies established in Bolivia. Classification depends on the service; developing software without performing regulated functions should not automatically be equated with operating a financial institution.

Which authority supervises each activity

ASFI authorises and supervises FTCs within its remit. The decree preserves the Pension and Insurance Supervisory Authority's, APS, responsibilities for insurance. The Central Bank of Bolivia, BCB, oversees payment-system matters. The Financial Investigations Unit, UIF, handles the preventive framework applicable to obliged persons.

ASFI amendment 373/2026, issued through Circular 945/2026, expressly incorporates BCB payment rules. Certain new technology services provided by supervised entities within the payment system require a BCB no-objection or favourable opinion. ASFI's remit does not dispense with that intervention or combine every digital activity into one authorisation.

Which permission the business model requires

The FTC framework requires establishment permission and an operating licence. ASFI may require controlled tests to assess services; starting or completing a test does not confer unrestricted commercial permission. The official 2025 regulatory announcement distinguishes establishment, adaptation of existing companies and operation, with security and consumer-protection conditions.

A letter of intent initiates adaptation. Dentons' May 2026 analysis identifies the extended deadline as 30 June 2026, already past when this guide was reviewed. ASFI's bulletin confirms the deadline amendment. This replaces the earlier April date; filing the letter is not interpreted as receiving a licence.

The official list dated 16 September 2026 identifies companies undergoing adaptation. It demonstrates adaptation proceedings, not definitive licences for every listed company. The amendment permits specified alliances with overseas entities authorised in their home jurisdiction, according to the ASFI bulletin; that contractual possibility does not provide a passport into every foreign market.

How holder rights are documented

Including tokenized assets in Decree 5384 recognises a service category without resolving how each right transfers. Securities Market Law 1834 governs securities, public offerings and intermediation. Article 6 includes invitations to the public or specific groups: directing a campaign to a group does not automatically make the offering private.

Chapter V of the depository regulation links book-entry representation to registration in a depository's system. It governs issuance documentation, ownership and registered transfers. A blockchain selected by the promoter does not automatically replace that system. The represented right, obligor, formalities and register producing effects against third parties must be identified.

Which obligations continue during operations

UIF Resolution 19/2025 designates persons professionally carrying out the specified services for profit and on behalf of others, including exchange, transfer and custody, as obliged persons. Registration is required; existing registrations must be updated when an already registered person starts those activities. Buying for personal use or investment does not itself constitute a VASP service.

The April 2026 amendment clarifies risk management during adaptation, focusing on operational and technology risks and gradual compliance with information-security rules. It also changes infrastructure and cloud requirements. Applicable conditions depend on the activity and procedural stage; preventive registration neither replaces licensing nor guarantees customer assets.

What to prepare before launching the project

Prepare the service description and payment flows, and establish whether the business is new or undergoing adaptation. Identify a letter of intent and a controlled test as application stages with their conditions.

For tokens over receivables, securities or goods, document the right and legally effective register. Verify participants’ actual permissions: appearing on an adaptation list does not replace an operating licence.

Each operator's permissions, consolidated activity requirements and the treatment of a particular tokenized issuance require confirmation. No special tax regime or general token-based property recognition is inferred. The assessment reflects a sector-specific access route with adaptation and identified limits, without equating it with dedicated DLT securities infrastructure.

To understand how this framework applies to your project, discuss your case with our team.