Central Bank of Bolivia opens 18th Meeting of Bolivian Economists on the digital economy with ten international experts

The Central Bank of Bolivia announced it inaugurated the 18th Meeting of Bolivian Economists, themed “Advances and Challenges of the Digital Economy”, bringing together ten international experts to discuss how financial digitalisation is reshaping financial services and the wider economy. In opening remarks, the central bank’s acting president, Edwin Rojas Ulo, framed digitalisation as offering potential gains in efficiency, inclusion and growth while also raising challenges around regulation, employment, privacy and digital divides. The event is being held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in coordination with Universidad Privada Domingo Savio and the Military School of Engineering, and runs through 6 June at Fexpocruz. The first day focused on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and financial inclusion, with sessions covering CBDC concepts (International Monetary Fund), inclusion and digital gaps (CAF), Uruguay’s experience on payments innovation (Central Bank of Uruguay), global CBDC implementation and digital-asset regulation (John Kiff), and Colombia’s regulatory framework for cryptoassets (Central Bank of the Republic of Colombia). The programme for 6 June includes presentations on crypto economy, compliance, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing policy, stablecoin expansion and partnerships (Tether), and the evolution of virtual-asset payment gateways (Binance). Parallel sessions will also present 187 selected research papers and the competition winners across the central theme, history and economic thought, postgraduate and undergraduate research, and other macroeconomic and financial topics.