Paying rent used to mean a trip to the bank. Now, for millions of Venezuelans, it means opening a crypto wallet on their phones and sending the USDT stablecoins. As Venezuela’s financial system buckles under economic pressure, digital currencies have moved from fringe technology to a daily necessity. Venezuelans have turned to stablecoins like USDT to hedge against inflation and to conduct transactions in environments with unreliable or restricted financial infrastructure.
TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence firm, released a report Thursday saying that stablecoin adoption in Venezuela will accelerate if conditions deteriorate further. Venezuelans already depend heavily on blockchain-based tools for everyday banking after years of economic strain. Ironically, SUNACRIP—the national crypto regulator—operates in a fog of uncertainty, with its actual enforcement power still unclear.
Remittances are a major driver of stablecoin inflows, as families abroad use crypto to bypass banking barriers and send money directly to recipients in Venezuela—often via informal intermediaries or mobile apps.
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According to the TRM Labs report, peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers—where funds move between individuals via an intermediary—along with USDT-to-fiat conversions, have become essential for Venezuelans amid unreliable local banking.
The firm tracked Venezuelan IPs and found that over 38% of visits were to a single global platform offering P2P trading, showing its important role in providing crypto access to Venezuelans in an environment where banking facilities are in peril.
Venezuela ranks 18th globally for crypto adoption, as per the Chainalysis 2025 Crypto Adoption Index report. But its rank increases to 9th when adjusted for population size.
Born from Crisis
Venezuela’s crypto industry grew because the traditional economy was not working properly. About 10 years of economic problems, sanctions, and the government’s experiments with digital money created the conditions for crypto to grow. Stablecoins now manage payroll, money transfers, and vendor payments—tasks that retail banks ought to perform but are unable to.
TRM Labs points to three factors that will shape where Venezuelan crypto goes from here. These are as follows:
- First, the bolívar is not stabilising anytime soon. That means Venezuelans will keep relying on stablecoins—not just to preserve savings, but to actually buy things.
- Second, nobody really knows what SUNACRIP can or will do. The regulator’s murky authority means people will stick with workarounds and informal platforms, making it harder to track activity or enforce any real standards.
- Third, local platforms with government connections could become stronger. These operations give the state better visibility into crypto flows, but that same alignment makes them targets for international sanctions enforcers watching Venezuelan financial networks.
Despite Venezuela’s economic crisis showing little sign of easing, stablecoins are likely to remain central to daily life, not just as a store of value but as a functional replacement for traditional banking. TRM Labs says that unless macroeconomic conditions improve or clear regulations emerge, the reliance on stablecoins will continue to grow, cementing the country’s position as one of the most crypto-dependent countries in the world.
