The United States does not freeze USDT transactions in Venezuela, not because they cannot or because they do not want to, but because There are greater incentives not to do so. For now.
USDT adoption in Venezuela has grown at a rapid pace in recent months. Although for years Venezuelans have found in this stablecoin, issued by Tether, a way to access the global market, as well as a refuge asset against the devaluation of the bolivar and the country’s inflation, since June of this year Venezuela has increased the use of USDT to facilitate currency exchange.
This measure responds to reduced oil revenues, aggravated by restrictions such as the recent limited license granted to Chevron by the US Treasury Department, which prohibits direct payments to the Venezuelan government. There is a shortage of dollars in the country, and its digital version in stablecoins has been the solution.
Unlike the Petro, which encountered strong resistance, the dollar enjoys high esteem by the country’s population, which is why stablecoins anchored to the dollar found fertile ground for their adoption in the country.
The use of USDT allows private companies to exchange bolivars for this digital currency through authorized exchange houses, such as Crixto and Kontigo, as long as they have digital wallets approved by the authorities.
According to Ecoanalitica, approximately $119 million in cryptocurrencies were sold to the private sector in July, while the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) injected 14% fewer dollars and euros into the exchange market in the first seven months of 2025, compared to the previous year. For September, the State settlements with USDT exceeded those in dollars, according to the director of this economic consulting firm, Asdrúbal Oliveros.
The problem with this, as various analysts have warned, is that Tether, as well as any other issuer of centralized stablecoins, can freeze funds.
Unlike Bitcoin, which is a digital commodity, USDT is issued by a regulated and law-bound entity, which maintains close collaboration with US organizations such as FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) and the Department of the Treasury.
In practice, this means that the company can freeze addresses linked to crimes, terrorism or sanctioned governments, even without the need for a court order. According to CriptoNoticias reports, two years ago, in 2023, Tether froze more than 160 digital addresses as part of its regulatory compliance policy.
If OFAC has maintained sanctions on Venezuelan officials since 2015, and if since 2018 the State Department has also established sanctions for transactions with Petros and any other cryptocurrency by Venezuela, why have they not decided to intensify economic pressure and block USDT funds? probably because the incentives not to do so are greater.
USDT transactions are public and traceable. There are chain analysis tools with a very high degree of sophistication, such as Chainalysis or Arkham, whose researchers and analysts are specialized in identifying addresses and linking them to potential owners. Thus, we know what are the United States addresses, United Kingdom, BlackRockor even Satoshi Nakamotoand anyone can track their movements in real time.
With a chain analysis, clustering or grouping of transactions can be done to identify commercial links of groups. Total holding balances, payment volumes, days and hours in which transactions and exchanges for other cryptocurrencies are carried out can also be identified. Even carry out risk analysis of transactions to identify if their history has been linked to illicit activities.
We use the hypothesis that, if Tether or other stablecoin issuers like Circle have not frozen due to government demands, it is because The data they are leaking through their transactions is of greater use to the United States than a mere confiscation. This situation, under the current context of relations between both countries, is undoubtedly one more piece of the geopolitical board.
This also extends to the rest of the large players such as companies that are using USDT in Venezuela. Perhaps following retail transactions, which already reach 47% of monetary movements of less than ten thousand dollars in the country, does not make sense. But exchanges for high amounts have a high probability of being traced.
The use of stablecoins and traceable instruments in public accounting by private parties also opens another series of questions: what happens if another country or a competing company knows who local companies do business with? Is it irrelevant or does it disadvantage them in some way? What happens to a company and natural person when they do business with a tool that someone else controls and can freeze? These are questions that must be asked in the face of increasing adoption, since chain analysis tools are available to anyone willing to pay for them.
All in all, the push for transactions with stablecoins is doing a great job to pave the way towards bitcoinization of the country. This is because they have forced people and companies to go through the technological learning curve that this requires, such as managing wallets, exchanges, and beginning to become familiar with the language and tools essential to take advantage of this technology.
With Bitcoin, as we have said on multiple occasions, the reality would be different because the transactions are uncensorable. No one can stop you from making a transaction. And it is impossible for someone to confiscate or freeze your money, if you are the custodian of your private keys with a personal wallet. Of course, if you keep your funds in the custody of a third party like an exchange, of course they can censor and confiscate you. If they’re not your keys, they’re not your coins.
Transaction tracking can be supported, yes it is possible. Bitcoin’s accounting is public and open, like that of all cryptocurrencies. But at least in Bitcoin you can use the Lightning Network which offers a higher degree of privacy than an on-chain transaction. Learning to use the privacy tools that Bitcoin provides will be essential for trading in the future.
Meanwhile, and until this bitcoinization process occurs, USDT offers temporary relief to Venezuelans, but Venezuela remains at the mercy of external decisions. The use of USDT largely depends on the will of the United States. As long as the information they are collecting through chain analysis is useful, USDT can be used in Venezuela. But the decision of whether to allow it or not depends on US incentives.