Venezuela, a country sitting on the world’s largest proven oil reserves, now has a parallel financial system powered by a token pegged to the US dollar. USDT trading volume in the country reached roughly 75% of monthly oil exports during the period from June 11 to July 13, a figure that would have sounded absurd even two years ago.
How Tether became Venezuela’s shadow dollar
PDVSA, Venezuela’s state oil company, began requiring USDT prepayments for oil sales as early as 2023-2024. By Q1 2024, many deals demanded half the cargo value upfront in Tether’s stablecoin.
According to economist Asdrúbal Oliveros, as cited by the Wall Street Journal, an estimated 80% of Venezuela’s oil revenue is expected to be settled in USDT by late 2025 or early 2026.
Venezuela’s total crypto transaction volume tells an even bigger story. Chainalysis data shows the country recorded $44.6 billion in crypto transactions in the 12 months ending June 2025.
