Venezuela’s reliance on US-dollar pegged stablecoins may increase due to the looming threat of war, ongoing sanctions, and the hyperinflation affecting the bolívar.
Recently, the US Department of Defense sent its most advanced aircraft carrier to the Caribbean near Venezuela, as President Donald Trump indicated potential military action against drug cartels in the country.
Trump accused Venezuelan cartels of trafficking illegal drugs into the US, exacerbating the opioid crisis. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro rejected these claims, urging Trump to avoid escalating tensions.
JUST IN: 🇻🇪🇺🇸 Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he does not want war with the United States.
“No crazy war…please, please, please.” pic.twitter.com/d3XwzEiGsY
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) October 24, 2025
This situation may bring further financial instability for ordinary Venezuelans, who depend on stablecoins like Tether (USDT) to safeguard their savings amid skyrocketing inflation in the bolívar.
Stablecoins, often referred to by Venezuelans as “Binance dollars,” have gained traction in everyday transactions as US dollar reserves have sharply declined.
The Venezuelan government has also turned to stablecoins to facilitate oil transactions with allies such as Russia, with which it formalized a strategic partnership earlier this week.
The New York Times reported that Maduro has effectively “rewired Venezuela’s economy to stablecoins,” potentially making it the first nation to manage a significant portion of its public finances in cryptocurrency.
According to The New York Times, stablecoins “now account for nearly half of the hard currency that enters the Venezuelan economy legally.”
Venezuela ranks fourth in LATAM crypto adoption
The ongoing hyperinflation and sanctions have positioned Venezuela as the fourth largest cryptocurrency market in Latin America, with a value of $44.6 billion received from July 2024 to June 2025, according to a report from crypto analytics platform Chainalysis published earlier this month.
Its adoption trails only Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, which have larger populations than Venezuela.
One Venezuelan politician uses crypto to protect her assets
A prominent crypto adopter in Venezuela is Maria Corina Machado, a former presidential candidate who utilizes Bitcoin (BTC) to secure her assets against government seizure.
She recently received the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela and her nonviolent resistance to Maduro’s regime.
For the first time in history, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a Bitcoiner.
Congratulations to Maria Corina Machado, and also to @HRF who continues to explain to the world what is so obvious to so many-
Bitcoin IS human rights pic.twitter.com/92cHOieeEb
— Jeff Park (@dgt10011) October 10, 2025
Related: Javier Milei’s crypto-friendly party wins Argentine midterm
Since Maduro’s ascension to power in 2013, nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled the nation due to hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine, and social unrest.
Many faced loss of access to banking services, driving citizens to adopt cryptocurrencies and stablecoins like USDT to maintain value and transfer whatever wealth they managed to preserve out of the country.
Magazine: Cliff bought 2 homes with Bitcoin mortgages: Clever… or insane?
