Venezuela's Binance P2P USDT trading rivals oil exports

Peer-to-peer trading of the stablecoin USDT on the Binance platform in Venezuela reached a record $1.389 billion over a recent one-month period, a volume that rivals the country's crucial oil exports and underscores a dramatic shift toward cryptocurrency as a primary channel for accessing foreign currency. The trading occurred between June 11 and July 13, averaging approximately $44 million per day, according to estimates from the Caracas-based economic consulting firm Ecoanalítica.

Alejandro Grisanti, director and founding partner at Ecoanalítica, stated that these figures confirm Binance has moved beyond a niche market to become one of the country's main channels for buying and selling foreign currency. The firm developed a new methodology to estimate the size of the platform's peer-to-peer market, with the results highlighting the ongoing limitations within Venezuela's traditional foreign exchange system.

The scale of this crypto activity is significant when compared to official economic metrics. Ecoanalítica estimates the $1.389 billion volume represented 88% of all foreign currency sales executed by the Central Bank of Venezuela in June. Furthermore, the firm stated the...