An ambitious plan to tokenize gold and other precious metals on the Ethereum network will be presented to the current government of Rodrigo Paz by a group of Bolivian businessmen. Led by Edwin Portugal, a member of Asoblockchain Bolivia, this initiative seeks to combat corruption and lay the foundations to overcome the economic crisis facing the Andean country.
Portugal, with experience in projects based on Bitcoin and Ethereum in Bolivia, detailed the scheme exclusively for CriptoNoticias. “It is about the tokenization of precious and strategic minerals and metals,” he explained, underlining a comprehensive approach that will allow gold to be traced from its extraction in the mine to its final destination in the Bolivian reserve.
This complete traceability system promises solid protection against fraud on the State’s wealth. The proposal takes on special relevance if one considers that, currently, Bolivia’s gold reserve “is pledged” by the Central Bank, as denounced the economic spokesperson Ramiro Cavero of the Alianza Libre political coalition in September 2025.
However, Portugal emphasizes that Bolivia has immense mineral wealth still unexploited, with reserves of gold, lithium and rare earths that far exceed current production. “We have gold that we have not mined and that is worth billions of dollars,” he said.
Traceability of the gold mine to the final consumer is sought
For him, the key is to extract that wealth in an orderly and traceable way. “If we are going to exploit these resources, we must do it with blockchain from the mine to the final consumer, so that no one can divert even a gram,” he stated. This traceability, he explained, prevents smuggling and guarantees that the income actually reaches the country.
However, Portugal does not avoid challenges. “Bolivia is a completely corrupt country where everyone is there to steal,” he stated while making an urgent call to implement a e-government based on blockchain for all online procedures.
«It is traceable and transparent; a network of thousands of computers is not corrupted,” he argues, also suggesting that the country could develop a gold-backed token for commerce, functioning as its own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The model proposed emulates that of the kingdom of Bhutanwhich in December 2025 launched a gold token backed by its sovereign reserves in the Solana network. Bolivia seeks a similar balance.
Bolivia would export 10 tons of gold per year via tokens
The entrepreneur sees enormous potential in this initiative, which would democratize access to gold, traditionally exclusive to the elites, and could position Bolivia to export up to 10 tons of gold annually via tokens, according to his estimates.
The current government, with barely a month in office, seems willing to open its doors to innovators. Although, Portugal urges the placement of experts in vice-ministries of science, lamenting that the “expectation was that people from emerging technologies would handle that.” He warns that without adequate changes to the structure, the two-decade-old bureaucracy risks persisting.
Portugal concludes with optimism, envisioning “new schemes” that will accelerate digital sovereignty in a country that, although currently impoverished, has vast untapped potential in resources such as lithium and quinoa. According to their vision, these resources should also be tokenized.