Bolivia Adopts USDT Amid Dollar Crisis as Miners Pivot to AI

Woofun AI reports that stablecoins are emerging as critical dollar access tools in Bolivia amid severe currency shortages, while Bitcoin miners simultaneously pivot toward AI infrastructure and Ethereum staking to diversify revenue, though this strategic shift faces intensifying investor scrutiny over insider trading practices.

The regulatory proposal in Bolivia aims to formally recognize Tether’s USDT for payments, a move designed to integrate digital assets into the national financial system. Economy and Public Finance Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza stated that the framework would allow USDT to circulate alongside the boliviano and the US dollar for both payments and savings. The proposal remains under review and mandates strict anti-money laundering safeguards, a necessary condition given Bolivia’s continued presence on the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list. This initiative follows the lifting of the country’s crypto ban in 2024 and aligns with the new administration’s pledge to expand access to digital asset services.

The economic context driving this adoption is a prolonged shortage of US dollars, which forced the government to abandon its long-standing currency peg earlier this year due to pressure on foreign exchange reserves. The resulting divergence between official and parallel exchange rates has significantly increased demand for dollar-denominated alternatives such as USDT. Consequently, the stablecoin has become an increasingly popular payment tool in the country, serving as a functional substitute for scarce physical currency.

In the mining sector, investors are increasingly scrutinizing insider stock sales at Bitcoin miners pursuing AI infrastructure strategies, as enthusiasm for the sector cools and governance concerns take center stage. According to Blocksbridge Consulting, executives at TeraWulf, Cipher Digital, Riot Platforms, and Core Scientific have disclosed stock sales in recent months, many executed under prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. Strategic investors have also trimmed their holdings, including Tether, which reduced its stake in Bitdeer following the company’s AI-driven rally.

Woofun AI data shows this shift in sentiment coincides with the TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index falling 16% over the past month. Blocksbridge noted that investors are looking beyond the AI growth story to assess whether the benefits of miners’ strategic pivots will flow to public shareholders. The cooling market has exposed vulnerabilities in the narrative that AI infrastructure alone can shield miners from broader market headwinds.

CleanSpark shares rallied as much as 22% after the Bitcoin miner signed a 20-year data center lease in Georgia that could generate up to $6.6 billion in contracted revenue, underscoring its push into AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. The agreement covers a 175-megawatt data center at the company’s Sandersville, Georgia, campus and was signed with an undisclosed investment-grade global technology company. The tenant will install its computing equipment at the site, with phased deliveries expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027. If the customer exercises two five-year extension options, the contract’s total value could reach $11.6 billion.

The deal reflects a broader trend among Bitcoin miners seeking new revenue streams as post-halving mining economics remain under pressure. While many publicly traded miners have reduced their Bitcoin holdings to shore up liquidity, CleanSpark has largely remained a net accumulator despite selling some BTC earlier this year to fund operations. This divergence highlights varying strategic approaches to liquidity management within the sector.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies generated $45.7 million in revenue from Ethereum staking and validation last quarter, demonstrating the strength of its business even as ETH prices remained under pressure. Ethereum staking accounted for 98% of the company’s revenue for the three months ended May 31, compared with $624,000 from self-mining Bitcoin and $168,000 from consulting services. The results follow the March launch of MAVAN, Bitmine’s institutional Ethereum staking platform, which was built on the acquisition of validator operator Pier Two Holdings. The company said it has staked roughly 85% of its Ether holdings, or about 4.9 million ETH.

Chairman Tom Lee stated that Bitmine now stakes more Ether than any other entity and projects annualized staking rewards of $284 million once its holdings of the token are fully staked through MAVAN and its partners. This marks a decisive shift from pure mining to staking dominance, suggesting that institutional-grade staking platforms may become the primary revenue driver for diversified crypto infrastructure firms in the coming years.