USDT Became Venezuela’s Oil Payment Rail Post Sanctions

• Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA used USDT to settle crude sales after US sanctions.
• USDT also became a parallel currency for civilians as hyperinflation wiped out the bolivar.
• The country is expected to hold a massive 600K BTC stash but data remains unconfirmed.

Venezuela turned to USDT after United States sanctions cut off access to the dollar banking system. Interestingly, the US has imposed “targeted sanctions” against Venezuelan individuals and entities over “criminal, antidemocratic, or corrupt actions” since 2005.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, state oil firm PDVSA began demanding payments in the stablecoin to keep crude exports moving.

By 2020, buyers were required to hold crypto wallets. Oil deals were settled through direct USDT transfers or via intermediaries that swapped cash proceeds into stablecoins. This bypassed banks entirely and reduced seizure risk.

It is important to note that one local estimate puts nearly 80% of Venezuela’s oil revenue flowing through stablecoins.

USDT Worked and Crypto Mattered

USDT mattered because it tracked the US dollar while staying outside the traditional system enforcing sanctions. For PDVSA, it meant faster settlement, fewer blocked payments, and access to foreign buyers despite restrictions.

For Venezuela, crypto was not an ideology but a reliable payment rail. When banks closed, wallets stayed open. That same logic applied to civilians as well.

Hyperinflation destroyed the bolivar, which lost almost all its value over the past decade. USDT became a parallel currency for savings, remittances, and daily payments.

WSJ reported that stablecoins are now embedded in Venezuela’s local economy. Grocery payments, rent, services, and cross-border transfers increasingly use USDT. Estimates suggest crypto accounts for around 10% of grocery transactions by late 2025.

Meanwhile, adoption happened without formal regulation. Trust shifted away from local banks toward dollar-pegged tokens that could be sent instantly and stored outside capital controls.

A prior government attempt to issue a national crypto, the Petro, failed due to low trust and zero global acceptance. USDT has filled that gap.

600K BTC Stash?

According to previous reports, Venezuela holds about a massive 600,000 BTC, which based on current prices, are worth north of $55 billion. However, these claims remain unproven. 

It is believed that the BTC stash came from the country’s gold swaps and oil settlements from 2018-2025. To bypass sanctions, Venezuela converted the proceeds from the sales to USDT and BTC. 

If true, the significant BTC could put Venezuela as one of the top holders of the world’s largest digital asset. For reference, Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet holds an estimated 1.1 million BTC. 

Related Article: Venezuela’s Hidden Bitcoin Could Trigger a Major Supply Lock-Up