TechFlow news, December 11 — According to Decrypt, a recent report by TRM Labs reveals that nearly a decade of economic isolation, international sanctions, and economic collapse have made cryptocurrency—especially USDT—a central part of daily life in Venezuela. The country heavily relies on informal peer-to-peer crypto trading platforms lacking strict KYC measures, with a single website accounting for 38% of network traffic from Venezuelan IP addresses.
Ari Redbord, former U.S. Treasury official and TRM’s Head of Global Policy, said years of sanctions and loss of banking access have driven Venezuela’s state and economy toward alternative channels. While cryptocurrencies have humanitarian implications for populations lacking stable financial options, the U.S. must also limit their value as tools for sanction evasion.
Recently, tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela have escalated sharply, with President Trump refusing to rule out sending troops to overthrow the Maduro government, while the U.S. government has also seized a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.
