Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said on Aug. 23 that several developing economies increasingly rely on USDT for domestic commerce, international trade and dollar denominated savings.
Summary
- Ardoino said USDT use is rising across Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia and Turkey amid monetary instability.
- Users increasingly hold USDT as digital dollars when local currencies weaken or cash dollars become scarce.
- Chainalysis ranked Venezuela eighteenth, Turkey fourteenth and Argentina twentieth for global crypto adoption in 2025.
- Chainalysis measured nearly $1.5T in Latin American crypto activity from July 2022 through June 2025.
- Tether said its technology served more than 570 million users worldwide as of March 2026.
“The economies of several developing countries rely heavily on USDT, both for domestic and foreign trade,” Ardoino wrote in a post. He said Tether’s financial inclusion mission was becoming more important.
Ardoino cited Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia and Turkey as markets where people use the stablecoin in response to inflation, currency depreciation, limited access to dollars and restrictions within conventional financial systems.
His statement describes Tether’s view of adoption. No single public dataset measures how dependent entire national economies are on USDT. Independent blockchain research, central bank data and exchange activity nevertheless support the broader conclusion that dollar stablecoins have gained traction in those markets.
Currency instability is supporting USDT adoption
USDT is designed to track the U.S. dollar, allowing users to obtain digital dollar exposure without holding a U.S. bank account. It can move between compatible wallets and exchanges at any time, although conversion options, costs and regulations vary by country.
The product can appeal to users whose local currencies are losing purchasing power. It also provides an alternative when physical dollars are scarce or cross border bank transfers are expensive and slow.
Turkey continued to face elevated inflation despite progress under its disinflation program. Consumer inflation fell from 49.4% in September 2024 to 30.9% in December 2025, according to an International Monetary Fund review. The IMF projected inflation of 23% at the end of 2026.
Argentina has also continued addressing inflation and foreign exchange pressures. The IMF reported that monthly inflation reached 3.4% in March 2026 following currency depreciation and weaker demand for pesos.
Stablecoin demand extends beyond those two markets. Chainalysis ranked Turkey 14th, Venezuela 18th and Argentina 20th in its 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index. When adjusted for population, Venezuela ranked ninth worldwide.
Venezuela and Bolivia show commercial use cases
In Venezuela, local businesses reportedly use USDT for retail payments and some import and export settlements. The stablecoin operates alongside bolivars, physical dollars and other digital assets within what local observers describe as a hybrid currency economy.
Chainalysis estimated that Venezuela received $44.6 billion in cryptocurrency value between July 2022 and June 2025. The figure covers all tracked crypto assets and does not represent USDT alone.
Bolivia provides a clearer official signal. The Central Bank of Bolivia publishes a reference USDT exchange rate based on weighted peer to peer activity on Binance. Its published data show how the stablecoin trades at a premium to the country’s official dollar rate.
The bank’s January financial stability report also identified foreign currency restrictions, higher inflation and low international reserves as continuing risks.
As previously reported, Bolivia moved toward recognizing USDT within its national payment system. Local banks already provide some USDT services, while businesses have used crypto for international payments and fuel related transactions.
The government has not completed a national framework making USDT equivalent to legal tender. Any description of formal payment status therefore remains forward looking.
Regional data support the broader trend
Chainalysis measured nearly $1.5 trillion in Latin American crypto activity between July 2022 and June 2025. Argentina accounted for an estimated $93.9 billion, Venezuela $44.6 billion and Bolivia $14.8 billion.
Centralized exchanges processed 64% of regional activity, showing that users generally obtain digital assets through conventional trading platforms rather than decentralized protocols.
In related coverage, dollar stablecoins accounted for 40% of purchases by Bitso users during 2025, compared with 18% for Bitcoin. The exchange operates across several Latin American markets, so those figures should not be treated as Argentina only data.
Tether says its products served more than 570 million people by March 2026. That is a company supplied estimate rather than a count of fully identified individual users because one person can control several blockchain addresses.
The company’s reported USDT supply reached a record $188 billion during 2026, reinforcing its position as the largest dollar stablecoin.
Users still face issuer, regulatory, wallet and network risks. USDT represents a claim supported by Tether’s reserves, not a bank deposit, and availability can change when governments or exchanges introduce new stablecoin rules.
