Paraguayan President Santiago Peña resigns following Ueno Bank collapse

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña announced his resignation on Thursday following the collapse of digital lender Ueno Bank, which left approximately three million customers unable to access their accounts. Decrypt, The Defiant, and The Economic Times reported the resignation, while Decrypt noted that the banking failure affected roughly 60 percent of the nation. Decrypt added that the Associated Press reported Vice President Pedro Alliana prepared to assume the presidency. [1][2][5][7][8]

Minutes after the resignation announcement, Paraguay's lower house voted 78 to 0 to impeach Peña and sent the charges to the Senate, according to Decrypt and The Defiant. The central bank of Paraguay simultaneously outlined a first payout group to assist affected Ueno depositors, as reported by The Defiant. [1][2]

The operational failure at Ueno Bank locked millions of citizens out of their personal funds, which Decrypt noted has renewed debate around financial intermediaries and the self-custody properties of digital assets. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital asset that relies on cryptography and peer-to-peer mechanisms rather than central banking authorities or traditional intermediaries. [1][10]