Bolivia’s Ministry of Trade and Imports has rejected a state-backed plan to use cryptocurrency for fuel imports.
This move, which marks a stunning policy reversal, signals a retreat from the government’s recent push to adopt digital assets as a workaround for dollar shortages.
Bolivia Rejects Crypto-for-Fuel Scheme Amid Energy Sector Turmoil
The initial plan, announced in March by Bolivia’s state-owned energy giant YPFB, aimed to use crypto to secure fuel imports. This was in response to acute shortages of both US dollars and refined fuel.
As reported by Reuters on March 13, the proposal had received government backing at the time.
But in a statement released Tuesday, Director of Trade and Imports Marcos Duran clarified that YPFB will not be permitted to use crypto for international transactions.
“YPFB must use Bolivia’s own resources and dollar-based financial transfers,” Duran said.
Head of digital assets at VanEck, Mathew Sigel, labels this a clear U-turn on crypto policy.
“U-Turn: Bolivia appears to back away from its crypto-for-fuel scheme,” Sigel quipped.
The crypto reversal comes after Russia’s Gazprom announced its exit from Bolivia’s Azero gas project, ending a 16-year involvement.
According to The Moscow Times, the departure reflects the broader instability in Bolivia’s energy sector, marked by falling gas production and increased reliance on fuel imports.
With dwindling foreign reserves, Bolivia has faced mounting pressure to diversify payment methods for essential imports. The crypto-for-fuel concept was seen as a bold, if risky, workaround to bypass the country’s dollar liquidity crisis.
However, the Ministry’s rejection raises fresh questions about coordination within Bolivia’s government and the viability of crypto in sovereign trade arrangements, particularly in volatile or resource-constrained economies.
Russia’s Ministry of Finance and Central Bank are teaming up to launch a centralized crypto exchange. This comes after successive attempts to force other exchanges out of the country.
This is just one step in Russia’s recent efforts to promote cryptocurrency as a tool to evade sanctions. Its government and business community have been espousing the practice, and Russia is considering a ruble-backed stablecoin.
Russia to Launch a Government-Backed Crypto Exchange
According to a report from local media, Russia’s government institutions have big plans for this centralized exchange. Initially, it will only be open to “super-qualified” investors.
This refers to investors who have 100 million rubles ($1.2 million) in securities and deposits or 50 million ($600,000) in annual income. These requirements are not final and may be changed after launch.
Anton Siluanov, Russia’s Minister of Finance, described the plan:
“Together with the Central Bank, we will launch a crypto exchange for super-qualified investors. Crypto assets will be legalized, and crypto operations will be brought out of the shadows. Naturally, not within our country, but those operations that have been carried out today within the framework of the experimental legal regime,” he said.
This exchange is part of Russia’s response to an international crypto crackdown. Specifically, private firms are being forced to leave the country.
By creating this exchange, Russia will have a platform to further intensify its crypto-based activities. According to the report, these “super investors” will be able to directly trade in cryptoassets, while retail traders will be restricted to various derivatives. This ties in with a recent three-year plan to test regulated crypto markets.
Russia’s crypto exchange is set to launch this year, but the government still needs to determine a few details. The regulatory framework for crypto derivatives is not entirely operational, and the plan has faced some pushback from the nation’s financial community.
Pi Network (PI) has climbed over 4% in the past 24 hours after the launch of its Migration Roadmap. The token is showing early signs of recovery across several indicators, but confirmation of a sustained uptrend remains uncertain.
While technical setups like the Ichimoku Cloud and RSI suggest a possible shift in sentiment, resistance levels continue to hold strong. At the same time, frustration among the community persists due to the lack of clarity in the Migration Roadmap, adding another layer of pressure to PI’s next move.
PI Tests Cloud Resistance With Weak Trend Structure Ahead
Pi Network is currently trading just below the Ichimoku Cloud, signaling hesitation as buyers attempt to regain control. While recent candles show higher lows and some bullish intent, the price remains under the cloud’s resistance zone.
The Tenkan-sen (blue line) is still below the Kijun-sen (red line), meaning short-term momentum hasn’t overtaken the medium-term trend yet.
Until a bullish crossover forms and the price breaks through the cloud, the structure favors caution over confirmation.
Looking forward, the cloud becomes thicker and increasingly sloped, suggesting that volatility may return and a stronger trend—bullish or bearish—could soon develop.
This widening Kumo indicates that the market may be preparing for a more decisive move, and a successful breakout above the cloud would be a significant signal.
However, as long as PI remains beneath this zone, it stays in a vulnerable position, with rejection and continued sideways movement still on the table.
Pi Network RSI Rises, But Fails to Hold Above 57
The Pi Network’s RSI is currently at 53.77, reflecting a significant recovery from its deeply oversold reading of 32.34 two days ago.
However, after peaking at 57.25 yesterday, the RSI has slightly cooled, suggesting that bullish momentum has weakened somewhat.
This shift indicates that while buying pressure recently returned, it has not yet been strong or consistent enough to sustain a full breakout. The market appears to be stabilizing, but not aggressively trending in either direction.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes on a scale from 0 to 100.
Values above 70 typically suggest an asset is overbought and might be due for a correction, while readings below 30 indicate oversold conditions and possible upward reversals. With PI’s RSI sitting at 53.77, the token is in neutral-bullish territory, showing moderate strength but still far from overbought levels.
PI price is currently hovering just below a key resistance level, suggesting that a decisive move could be approaching. If this resistance is tested and broken, PI may resume its upward trajectory, with potential targets around $0.789 and $0.858.
A sustained breakout could even reignite the strong momentum seen a few months ago, paving the way for a push toward $1.23 or even $1.79.
On the downside, if PI fails to break through the $0.66 resistance, the token could face a pullback toward $0.54. A loss of that support level would open the door for a deeper correction, potentially dragging the price down to $0.40.
Until there’s a clear breakout or breakdown, the price remains in a sensitive position, heavily influenced by both technical levels and community sentiment.
