Paraguay’s Bank Collapse Exposes a Problem Bitcoin Was Built to Solve

Paraguayan regulators seized Ueno Bank, a digital lender claiming about three million customers, after the central bank found that revised financial statements left its solvency ratio below half the legal minimum. The bank had said it administered roughly $850 million in public funds, including money tied to state institutions and pension bodies. The collapse froze customer accounts and led to criminal charges and detentions, the resignation of central bank chief Carlos Carvallo, who had previously led Ueno’s predecessor, and impeachment proceedings against President Santiago Peña. Peña, who says he sold his stake in controlling shareholder Grupo Vázquez in March 2025 and denies wrongdoing, offered to resign, but lawmakers rejected it.