Bolivia is facing a severe economic crisis. The country is literally running out of dollars. Their foreign reserves have collapsed from $15 billion a decade ago to just $50 million today.

In June 2024, Bolivia legalized cryptocurrencies, and digital asset transaction volume exploded - growing over 500 percent in the past year.

To participate in the global economy, businesses are turning to stablecoins for access to dollar assets.

From Binance peer-to-peer trading to stablecoin-powered credit cards, we explore how people survive when their country runs out of dollars, and how stablecoins are being used for global spending.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.

00:00 - Bolivia ran out of dollars
02:06 - Stablecoins to the rescue
03:25 - How did Bolivia get here?
04:11 - Bolivia's parallel economy
06:24 - Meru
09:55 - What happens when a country runs out of dollars

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Argentina's decades-long economic crises and hyperinflation has a major impact on how Argentine's participate in the economy.

The recent story that's been told about Argentina is that people are adopting stablecoins to protect against inflation and currency devaluation. But that's only part of the story...

The real story involves long-standing distrust of government and the banks, and overbearing taxes that drive Argentinians to the informal economy.

While stablecoin volumes in Argentina surpass $90 billion, Argentina still has over $200 billion in cash circulating in the country, and hidden under mattresses. It's the second-largest holder of US Dollar cash, behind the US itself.

In this episode of Money Trails, presented by @StellarDevelopmentFoundation , we explore why Argentines keep their money outside of the formal system, and why they are increasingly adopting stablecoins.

In this episode, we’re joined by Manuel Beaudroit, the Co-founder & CEO of Belo.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.

00:00 - Argentina's economic crisis
01:45 - Arbolitos on Calle Florida
02:48 - The Blue Dollar
04:01 - Distrust and taxes
07:20 - Why Argentines keep their money outside the formal economy
09:50 - Why Argentina's parallel economy still thrives
10:43 - Cuevas, Argentina's informal exchange houses
13:21 - Why Argentines are adopting stablecoins
15:43 - Subscribe!

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This year, $160 billion in remittance payments will be sent from the US to Latin America. $65 billion will be sent from the US to Mexico, the world's largest remittance corridor.

Yet, the majority of payments will be sent via brick-and-mortar stores like Western Union or Moneygram.

The future of payments is already here, yet most people are queuing in line, paying in cash, taking a photo of their receipt, and sending it to their families on WhatsApp for collection in their home country.

If we can send receipts over WhatsApp, why can’t we send money too?

That same question was the motivation for Félix, an AI-powered chatbot that replicates the trusted agent experience om WhatsApp.

It’s a user experience made possible by stablecoins.

In this episode of Money Trails, presented by Stellar Development Foundation, our user-centric series on global stablecoin adoption, we explore how immigrants send money back home.

This episode of Money Trails is sponsored by Rain Cards.

In this episode, we’re joined by

Manuel Godoy - Co-founder & CEO, Felix
Farooq Malik - Co-founder & CEO, Rain

00:00 - Intro
01:06 - Sending money in Jackson Heights
03:22 - Félix CEO Manuel Godoy
04:54 - How Félix works
06:20 - Stablecoin-powered remittance payments
08:49 - Spending money in Mexico
11:38 - Subscribe!

Our Links -
🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@thefliphq
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💻 Website - https://theflip.africa