Key Takeaways
- U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday.
- Escalating tensions threaten to destabilize Latin American economies.
- Economic volatility has been a key driver of crypto adoption in the region.
When American forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday, Dec. 10, it caused the bolivar to drop sharply.
But after years of hyperinflation, dollars, often in the form of stablecoins, have already replaced the local currency for many transactions.
Across Latin America (LATAM), escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela threaten to destabilize already struggling economies, accelerating the flight to crypto and stablecoins.
Desperate for Adoption
After several decades of high inflation, the dollar has become the de facto everyday currency for most Venezuelans.
Alongside a thriving black market for U.S. banknotes, stablecoins, particularly USDT, have also gained prominence in recent years.
Visitors to the country report widespread adoption of Tether’s digital dollar, while many businesses also accept USDC and Bitcoin.
Driving Venezuela’s crypto economy, mobile apps like CrixtoPay and Coco Wallet have racked up hundreds of thousands of downloads.
Meanwhile, by 2023, stablecoins powered an estimated 9% of inbound remittances—a figure that is likely to have risen since.
According to research by Chainalysis, in the year to July 2025, Venezuela received $44.6 billion in crypto value.
As the U.S. flexes its naval muscles in the Caribbean, Venezuela faces the looming threat of armed conflict and the economic fallout it inevitably brings.
However, history suggests it won’t be easy to oust President Nicolas Maduro’s regime.
Against this backdrop, opposition leader María Corina Machado has called Bitcoin a “lifeline” for Venezuelans that “has evolved from a humanitarian tool to a vital means of resistance.”
Latin America’s Booming Crypto Market
The same forces driving crypto adoption in Venezuela can be observed across Latin America.
While Argentina’s inflation rate has cooled off since 2023, it remains above 40% according to the International Monetary Fund.
To a lesser degree, Bolivia and Suriname have also struggled with high inflation, and the major economies of Brazil and Colombia are only slightly better off.
Venezuela and Argentina have already seen stablecoins emerge as a widespread payment instrument.
USDT is also gaining ground in Bolivia, where major carmakers, including Toyota, BYD, and Yamaha, now accept Tether’s digital dollars
Elsewhere, crypto is increasingly used as a store of value and hedge against economic instability.
In the year to July, Latin American crypto activity grew 60%, more than any other region except Asia Pacific, Chainalysis found.
Brazil, in particular, has emerged as a crypto powerhouse, accounting for nearly one-third of all LATAM crypto activity.
In a region where geopolitical shocks increasingly translate into digital asset adoption, every new flashpoint between the U.S. and Venezuela only strengthens the forces already driving Latin Americans to embrace crypto.
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James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
