Venezuela’s USDT market holds volumes that now rival the country’s major sources of foreign currency.
Summary
- Venezuela’s Binance P2P market handled 1.389 billion USDT between June 11 and July 13 alone.
- Ecoanalítica estimated that volume equaled 75% of Venezuela’s monthly oil exports during that period.
- USDT traded near 840 bolivas, about 15.5% above Venezuela’s official exchange rate in mid-July 2026.
Ecoanalítica estimates that 1.389 billion USDT changed hands on Binance’s peer market between June 11 and July 13, equivalent to 44 million USDT per day.
The research firm estimated that the volume represents about 75% of Venezuela’s monthly oil exports. However, a different calculation using June crude shipments and the average price of Merey crude puts the ratio closer to 52%, indicating that the comparison depends on the method and reference period used.
Binance P2P is becoming a major foreign exchange channel
Ecoanalítica has developed a method to measure the size of Binance’s P2P market in Venezuela. According to the company, the results show how the platform has moved from a unique small market to a large channel for buying and selling value connected to dollars outside of the traditional banking system.
The USDT volume of 1.389 billion is also equal to 64.2% of the 2.163 billion dollars of foreign currency provided by the Central Bank of Venezuela during June, based on the statistics mentioned by CryptoNoticias.
The central bank has increased its supply by 36% since May as it seeks to reduce pressure on the bolivar. Ecoanalítica put the comparison at 88%, although they did not publish enough data to confirm the difference.
USDT trades at a lower rate than the official Venezuelan dollar
Meanwhile, USDT traded at 840 bolivars on local P2P markets, about 15.5% more than the official exchange rate of 727 bolivars per US dollar on July 16. The spread remained narrower than before in 2026, when the difference between the official rates and others was 30%.
Ecoanalítica director Alejandro Grisanti said Binance has gone “from being a neglected market to one of the main channels for buying and selling foreign currencies.” He also said that P2P activity could slow down if legal banks are able to provide foreign currency. As a result, users can convert some transactions back to regular financial platforms.
The oil figures leave the 75% estimate open to question
Venezuela shipped about 1.2 million barrels of crude per day in June, while the average price of Merey crude fell to $71.13 per barrel from $82.77 in May. Using those figures, the monthly value of crude exports would stand at around $2.56 billion, making the reported USDT volume around 52% instead of 75%.
The difference may reflect a different export price, reference period, or method used by Ecoanalítica. However, Grisanti did not give the full figure after the 75% figure. Therefore, the oil comparison remains average, while the reported Binance P2P volume stands at 1.389 billion USDT for this period.
Stablecoins are always tied to the oil market and the Venezuelan dollar
The latest figures add to long-term volatility in Venezuela’s stablecoins. As crypto.news previously reported, the country’s oil company PDVSA has been gradually moving fuel sales to USDT as US sanctions make traditional payment channels difficult to use. That development linked the country’s oil trade to a similar dollar-linked token that is now widely traded on its domestic P2P market.
Recently, as crypto.news reported in April, Tether said it has frozen more than $344 million in USDT linked to sanctions evasion and criminal networks in cooperation with US authorities. The report also noted earlier concerns about PDVSA’s use of USDT. The latest P2P ratings now place stablecoin trading on a scale that can be compared to the largest legal and export-related foreign exchange flows.
