80% of oil income settled in stablecoins, Venezuela makes USDT its second currency
Original Article Title: Maduro's Crypto-Backed Oil Deals Put Tether at Center of Venezuela Money Drama
Original Article Author: Vicky Ge Huang, the Wall Street Journal
Translation: Peggy, BlockBeats
Editor's Note: From being called the "outlaw's stablecoin" to attempting to enter the U.S. compliant market, USDT's role in Venezuela reveals the most authentic and contradictory aspect of stablecoins: it serves as both a tool for bypassing sanctions and the traditional banking system for oil exports, and as a financial lifeline for ordinary people to sustain their livelihoods amid the collapse of the Bolivar and capital controls.
When nearly 80% of a country's oil revenue is taken over by a stablecoin and even the elderly have to use USDT to pay property fees, this is not only an extreme example of crypto penetrating the real economy but also a reminder that the core controversy of stablecoins has never been just about how "useful" they are, but about their inherent "dual use": becoming a lifeline where systems fail and an escape route in regulatory vacuums.
The following is the original article:
Nicolás Maduro to some extent facilitated USDT becoming the world's dominant stablecoin. Now, as this former Venezuelan leader sits in a Brooklyn prison, the cryptocurrency's central role in the Venezuelan economy once again draws external scrutiny.
For Venezuela's state-owned oil company, USDT has become a key tool for circumventing sanctions and is used as the payment currency for settling oil trades. Meanwhile, amid the continuous devaluation of the national currency, the Bolivar, Tether has provided an essential financial "lifeline" for ordinary Venezuelans. Like most mainstream stablecoins, USDT is pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar.
According to crypto industry analysts, Maduro's arrest and removal from the Venezuelan presidency may not necessarily weaken USDT's presence locally—after all, hyperinflation remains a long-standing challenge. At the same time, Tether's financial ties to Venezuela also position the cryptocurrency company in a crucial spot: as U.S. authorities seek to trace the funds allegedly stolen by the Maduro regime, Tether could become a significant aid.
Adam Zarazinski, CEO of crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital, stated: "The use of cryptocurrency in Venezuela will continue and is likely to expand in the short term. For ordinary users, it serves as a self-remedy mechanism to cope with economic collapse and institutional breakdown. However, the same governance failure also provides space for sanction evasion—if governance does not show credible improvement, this outcome will not change."
Maduro appeared in a preliminary hearing in a US federal court last week on drug trafficking charges and pleaded not guilty.
As a new era dawns, cryptocurrency company Tether and its token (once stigmatized as the "outlaw's preferred stablecoin") are seeking acceptance in the US market. Last year, legislation was passed paving the way for wider adoption of stablecoins, and Tether has announced plans to launch a stablecoin open to US investors. If successful, this would put it on par with competitors like Circle Internet Group and Paxos. Otherwise, Tether is likely to be marginalized in the US market.
Just last week, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that the US will indefinitely sell blocked Venezuelan oil. He said the proceeds from the sales will be deposited into an account controlled by the US government and eventually transferred to benefit the Venezuelan people. A senior Trump administration official also told The Wall Street Journal that the government is selectively lifting some sanctions to enable the transportation and sale of crude oil and oil products to the global market.
Facing escalating US sanctions in 2020, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), has begun demanding payment in USDT to bypass the traditional banking system. Oil export revenues are either settled by transferring USDT directly to a wallet address or by intermediaries converting cash receipts into USDT.
This shift represents a "transformative change" for the country's oil economy. Venezuelan economist Asdrúbal Oliveros recently stated on a podcast that an estimate shows nearly 80% of Venezuela's oil revenue is received in the form of stablecoins such as USDT.
Subsequently, Tether collaborated with US authorities to freeze dozens of wallets identified as being linked to Venezuelan oil trading. A Tether spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Shortly after the sanctions took effect, Tether, with the trading code USDT, also became a viable alternative currency for many Venezuelans. They use this stablecoin for cross-border remittances, value preservation, and daily transactions.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated at a recent cryptocurrency industry conference: "In the past 10 years, the Venezuelan bolívar has devalued by 99.8% against the US dollar, the Turkish lira by 80%, and the Argentine peso by approximately 94.5%. With just this simple chart, it is enough to explain why USDT has succeeded."
Born and raised in Venezuela, crypto entrepreneur Mauricio Di Bartolomeo said that two months ago, his 71-year-old aunt called him because she needed to buy some USDT to pay the condo association fee.
“You pay the gardener, you pay the barber, all like that. Basically, USDT you can use for everything,” said Di Bartolomeo, co-founder of the crypto lending platform Ledn. “Stablecoins have penetrated so deeply in Venezuela that even without regulated compliant channels to buy and sell stablecoins, people continue to choose stablecoins over using the local banking system.”
Researchers say that USDT playing a crucial role in Venezuela is almost inevitable due to the population's lack of trust in the domestic banking system and strict capital controls limiting their avenues to physical USD. A typical example is when the Venezuelan government tried to launch a crypto-backed by oil called Petro in 2018 but failed due to lack of public trust and international recognition.
Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy at blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, stated: “The issue is not with USDT itself but with the inherent ‘dual-use’ reality of stablecoins.” TRM Labs has partnered with Tether to track the illicit use of stablecoins on the Tron blockchain. “They can be a lifeline for ordinary people and also potentially leveraged as a sanctions evasion tool under pressure.”
You may also like
CFTC Reportedly Plans New Prediction Market Rules Focused on Manipulation Risk and Public Interest Review
The CFTC is reportedly preparing new prediction market rules focused on manipulation risk, public interest review, and retail trader protections.
Meet the new WEEX trial fund—your gateway to greater profits
WEEX Labs Lands at Dutch Blockchain Week: A Disruptive Crypto × AI Conversation Sets Sail in Amsterdam
SK Hynix Reportedly Plans U.S. ADR Listing as Early as August, With SEC Approval Possible in Late June
SK Hynix may pursue a U.S. ADR listing as early as August, with SEC approval reportedly possible in late June amid strong AI chip supply chain demand.
SpaceX vs Tesla vs xAI: Which Elon Musk Trade Has the Biggest Upside in 2026?
OpenAI Reveals It Has Confidentially Submitted an S-1 to the SEC, Keeping the Door Open for a Future IPO
On June 9, according to an OpenAI announcement, the company recently confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), beginning the preliminary compliance process for a potential initial public offering. OpenAI said it chose to disclose this proactively because it expected the news might leak; however, the company has not yet set a specific listing timeline, and related arrangements may still take some time.
Latest research from 13 top universities including Cornell University: The current state, challenges, and misconceptions of the fusion of Crypto and AI
Deconstructing Anthropic: The Best AI Company, Possibly Also a Type of Organizational Invention
Apollo and Blackstone Reportedly Back $35 Billion Anthropic Chip Financing as Deal Details Remain Unclear
On June 9, according to currently available news alerts, Apollo and Blackstone Group participated in a $35 billion financing for an Anthropic “chip project.” Based on the original wording of the report, the funding has already been raised, but public information remains limited. The financing structure, use of proceeds, project entity, and whether Apollo and Blackstone participated through equity, debt, or project financing have not yet been disclosed.
Humanity Protocol Security Incident Escalates: More Than $31 Million Stolen From Related Addresses as Attacker Continues Selling H for ETH
On June 9, according to monitoring by Onchain Lens, more than $31 million has been stolen from addresses linked to Humanity Protocol, and the attack is still ongoing, with the hacker continuously swapping H tokens for ETH. Project founder Terence Kwok later confirmed the security incident on X, saying the issue involved a private key leak.
Bloomberg: As Bitcoin Weakens, Stablecoins and RWA Continue to Drive Expansion in Crypto Businesses
In June, Bloomberg reported that despite Bitcoin falling below $60,000 last week, wiping out about $235 billion in market value within seven days, and dropping close to 50% from last year’s peak, some core businesses in the crypto industry are still expanding, mainly in stablecoins, real-world asset tokenization (RWA), payments, and infrastructure. The report also noted that overall altcoin activity has contracted significantly: altcoin market capitalization has fallen from a peak of about $431 billion in November 2021 to around $170 billion, and among the tens of millions of tokens issued in recent years, fewer than 1,700 still maintain meaningful trading activity.
Galaxy Deep Research Report: How Hyperliquid's HIP-4 Upgrade Changes the Landscape of Prediction Markets?
Binance Research: RWA Market Expected to Expand Nearly 6x from Early 2025, with Public Equities and Onchain Payments Heating Up Together
In June, Binance Research said in its monthly market report that the real-world asset (RWA) market is expected to grow by about 589% from the beginning of 2025. Bond- and money market fund-related RWA expanded by about $6.5 billion, up 83% year over year, while publicly traded equity RWAs grew by about 422%. The report also noted that monthly crypto debit card transaction volume exceeded $747 million in May, up 48.6% year to date.
Japan to Assess a Framework for Yen Stablecoins and Crypto ETFs as Asia’s Compliant Payments Narrative Heats Up
Recently, according to the original report, Japan is considering the launch of yen stablecoins and cryptocurrency ETFs. Public information remains limited at this stage, and there is still no complete policy text, regulatory draft, or clear implementation timeline, so this is better characterized as a “policy discussion” rather than formal implementation. The original wording also noted that advancing stablecoin regulation in Asia is driving XRP usage and supporting growth in the XRPL ecosystem. However, based on currently available public information, there is not enough evidence to directly establish a clear causal relationship between this round of discussion in Japan and XRP or XRPL.
ZachXBT: Humanity private key leak and abnormal surge in H token should be viewed separately
On June 9, according to related disclosures, on-chain investigator ZachXBT posted an update on Humanity’s roughly $31 million security incident, saying that after further analyzing fund flows, he currently tends to believe the project team was not involved in an “inside job” or a self-staged attack. According to him, the official explanation about the private key leak was broadly accurate, but before the token unlock, the price of H had been artificially pushed higher, and the hacker later took advantage of that market environment; therefore, the private key leak and the earlier abnormal price pumping should be regarded as two separate and independent events. This reframing has shifted the market’s understanding of the nature of the incident. Earlier discussion around Humanity had focused on whether the team directly participated in the attack or used the security incident to cover up internal operations. ZachXBT’s latest remarks shift the focus from “whether it was self-theft” to “whether there were pre-unlock market structure issues.” He also questioned whether the team may have.
Morning Report | OpenAI has submitted an S-1 registration statement draft to the U.S. SEC; Morpho completes $175 million financing
Morning Report | BitMine increased its holdings by 126,971 ETH last week; trader Eugene announced his exit from the crypto market
Wang Chuan: How can one not feel anxious after the neighbor Old Wang made thirty times profit by investing in storage stocks? (Seven) - A quarter-century cycle
CFTC Reportedly Plans New Prediction Market Rules Focused on Manipulation Risk and Public Interest Review
The CFTC is reportedly preparing new prediction market rules focused on manipulation risk, public interest review, and retail trader protections.
Meet the new WEEX trial fund—your gateway to greater profits
WEEX Labs Lands at Dutch Blockchain Week: A Disruptive Crypto × AI Conversation Sets Sail in Amsterdam
SK Hynix Reportedly Plans U.S. ADR Listing as Early as August, With SEC Approval Possible in Late June
SK Hynix may pursue a U.S. ADR listing as early as August, with SEC approval reportedly possible in late June amid strong AI chip supply chain demand.
SpaceX vs Tesla vs xAI: Which Elon Musk Trade Has the Biggest Upside in 2026?
OpenAI Reveals It Has Confidentially Submitted an S-1 to the SEC, Keeping the Door Open for a Future IPO
On June 9, according to an OpenAI announcement, the company recently confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), beginning the preliminary compliance process for a potential initial public offering. OpenAI said it chose to disclose this proactively because it expected the news might leak; however, the company has not yet set a specific listing timeline, and related arrangements may still take some time.
