Venezuela's reliance on U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins could worsen amid a brand new threat of war, ongoing sanctions and Bolívar hyperinflation.
Earlier this week, the US Department of Defense deployed its most advanced aircraft carrier within the Caribbean near Venezuela as President Donald Trump announced plans for military strikes against drug cartels operating across the South American country.
Trump has accused Venezuelan cartels of smuggling illegal substances into the United States, fueling an opioid and drug epidemic. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro rejected the allegations and called on Trump to refrain from war.
JUST IN: 🇻🇪🇺🇸 Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he doesn't want war with the United States.
“No crazy war…please, please, please.” pic.twitter.com/d3XwzEiGsY
– BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) October 24, 2025
This could mean even greater financial instability for on a regular basis Venezuelans who depend on stablecoins like Tether (USDT) to stop their hard-earned savings from evaporating within the face of triple-digit inflation within the Bolívar.
Stablecoins, or what many Venezuelans consult with as “Binance dollars,” are also widely utilized in on a regular basis payments as U.S. dollar reserves have dwindled across the country.
The Venezuelan government has also turned to stablecoins to facilitate oil trade with its allies, including Russia, with which it formalized a strategic partnership on Monday.
The New York Times reported last Sunday that Maduro had managed to “transform Venezuela’s economy to stablecoins,” making it arguably the primary country to oversee a big portion of its public funds in crypto.
The New York Times reported that stablecoins “now account for as much as half of the hard currency that legally enters the Venezuelan economy.”
Venezuela ranks fourth in Latin America for cryptocurrency adoption
Triple-digit inflation and sanctions have helped make Venezuela the fourth-largest crypto country in Latin America, valued at $44.6 billion from July 2024 to June 2025, crypto analytics platform Chainalysis reported earlier this month.
It trailed only Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, all of which have larger populations than Venezuela.
A Venezuelan politician is using crypto to guard her assets
One of probably the most well-known crypto users in Venezuela is Maria Corina Machado, a former Venezuelan presidential candidate who uses Bitcoin (BTC) to guard her assets from confiscation.
She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month for her fight to revive democracy in Venezuela and her peaceful resistance to Maduro's authoritarian regime.
For the primary time in history, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a Bitcoiner.
Congratulations to Maria Corina Machado and likewise to @HRF for continuing to elucidate to the world what’s so obvious to so many.
Bitcoin IS human rights pic.twitter.com/92cHOieeEb
— Jeff Park (@dgt10011) October 10, 2025
Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country since Maduro took power in 2013 on account of hyperinflation, food and medicine shortages and public unrest.
Many lost access to their bank accounts, forcing residents to resort to cryptocurrencies and stablecoins reminiscent of USDT to preserve their value and transfer all their wealth out of Venezuela.
