Source publication time: November 7, 2026, at 03:16:03 UTC+8. This account reflects the situation reported at that time.
Thousands of Paraguayans marched through Asunción during the week of the report after digital lender Ueno Bank locked about 3 million customers out of their accounts—a figure described as roughly 60% of Paraguay’s adults. The crisis also prompted Bitcoin advocates to argue for alternatives to bank-held funds, but the report offered no evidence of a resulting increase in Bitcoin use.
According to AP reporting cited by Decrypt, Ueno held $800 million to $850 million in public money, including state pension and health funds, extending the fallout beyond individual depositors.
Depositors demand access to their money
Savers burned debit and credit cards outside Ueno’s Asunción headquarters on Thursday night. Former presidential candidate Paraguayo “Payo” Cubas was booed, shoved and forced out when he tried to join the protest. Demonstrators called him a “divider” and an “opportunist,” accusing him of seeking political advantage from their anger.
Diario Hoy reported that protesters also blamed Cubas for the Senate’s composition. They said he had placed Zenaida Delgado and Javier Vera on his party’s legislative ticket and that both subsequently joined the government’s side after taking office.
Police used water cannons and tear gas against marchers near Congress. A new law required most deposits to be returned within five business days, but protesters remained dissatisfied.
The central bank said its deposit guarantee covered up to 228.3 million guaraníes per person, approximately $36,000. That coverage limit was distinct from the initial payout criteria: according to earlier Decrypt reporting, the first payments would go only to accounts holding up to 10 million guaraníes, around $1,600, whose holders had no debts to Ueno.
Political fallout reaches the presidency
President Santiago Peña, who had been a shareholder in Ueno’s holding company until March 2025, submitted his resignation on Thursday. According to La Nación, a joint congressional session called to accept it adjourned without a quorum. Peña then said he would face impeachment and defend himself.
The lower house had voted 78–0 to open impeachment proceedings. On Friday, the Senate rejected Peña’s request for an additional 72 hours to prepare his defense. ABC Color reported that senators planned a removal vote for Friday night, with Vice President Pedro Alliana next in line. The supplied report did not include the outcome of that planned vote.
Colorado Party leader Horacio Cartes, Peña’s former political mentor, withdrew his support and backed impeachment. “We will not be on the side of the plunder of public, private and retirees’ funds,” he said.
La Nación’s Friday update reported that Interior Minister Enrique Riera and central bank president Carlos Carvallo had resigned, and that eight Ueno executives had been arrested. Prosecutors also opened a criminal investigation into Peña’s possible responsibility for the bank’s irregularities, which he denied.
Bitcoin advocacy is not an adoption measurement
The lockout drew arguments from crypto figures in favor of decentralization and self-custody. JAN3 founder Samson Mow said nation-state Bitcoin adoption could mitigate such crises: “If BTC is available to the people as a parallel rail, then systemic banking failures have far less impact.”
Aave founder Stani Kulechov wrote: “Bitcoin matters now more than ever. Look at Paraguay today.”
Those statements were advocacy, not evidence that affected customers had moved to Bitcoin. The report supplied no figures for new crypto users, wallet activity, payments or sustained usage. Its estimate of 3 million affected bank customers measured the scale of the banking disruption—not cryptocurrency adoption.
Diario Hoy also reported that the Federation of Educators of Paraguay had called a national strike and march for Monday, November 9.
