As Venezuela experiences an annual inflation rate of 229%, stablecoins like Tether’s USDt, locally known as “Binance dollars,” have become essential for day-to-day transactions including groceries, salaries, and vendor payments. The national currency, the bolívar, is failing in daily commerce, leading many to prefer USDt which offers better liquidity and stability. Various exchange rates currently exist for the US dollar in Venezuela: the official Central Bank rate, the parallel market rate, and the USDt rate on Binance. Notably, stablecoins accounted for 47% of all Venezuelan crypto transactions under $10,000 in 2024. Routine expenses are increasingly quoted and settled in stablecoins as economic actors reject the local currency. Even local banks are reportedly turning to USDt to navigate government-imposed capital controls and sanctions. In addition to individual users, industries, including oil, are shifting to stablecoins to bypass restrictions, highlighting a broader trend of crypto adoption in economically unstable countries like Venezuela.

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