The Stablecoin Dominance: Why 90% of Latin America’s Crypto Economy Chooses USDT and USDC

• Latin America’s crypto flow grew 800%, driven by stablecoins for practical daily financial needs and savings.
• The region leads in digital payments, with crypto solving real-world issues like high fees and currency volatility.

A report published by Dune provides a detailed analysis of the current state of cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America . The report emphasizes the preference of Latin Americans for dollar-denominated stablecoins. Tokens such as Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC dominate the local market. They represented more than 90% of the transfer volume on exchanges in July 2025, a substantial increase from the approximately 60% share in 2022.

In Argentina, for instance, stablecoins constituted 72% of all cryptocurrency purchases in 2024, vastly exceeding Bitcoin, which accounted for only 8%.

Stablecoins form the backbone of the on-chain economy in Latin America. They are used for cross-border payments, savings, and protection against inflation, according to the report. A separate 2025 Fireblocks report found that 71% of surveyed respondents use stablecoins for cross-border payments, and 100% have strategies related to these digital assets.

Beyond tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar, stablecoins linked to local currencies, such as the Brazilian Real (BRL) and the Mexican Peso (MXN), are gaining traction for domestic payments and on-chain commerce.

In Brazil, the volumes of BRL-linked stablecoins grew from $20.9 million in 2021 to around $900 million in July 2025, with five active stablecoins. In Mexico, the MXNB and MXNe tokens, linked to the Mexican peso, reached $34 million in July 2025, up from less than $55,000 just one year prior.

Centralized Exchanges Serve as the Primary Gateway

Centralized exchanges (CEXs) are the main entry point for users in the region. These platforms handled 68.7% of the digital asset volume in Latin America for 2024, a figure comparable to North America. Binance leads with a 54% market share, followed by local players like Lemon Cash and Bitso.

Flows through CEXs in Latin America grew by 800% from 2021 to 2024. This is equivalent to a nine-fold increase, moving from $3 billion to $27 billion in annual volume. As of July 2025, volumes had reached $11.2 billion for Bitso and $890 million for Lemon Cash, maintaining steady growth after an initial slowdown in January.

Downloads of cryptocurrency applications in Latin America doubled in the second quarter of 2024 as on-ramp and off-ramp volumes grew considerably. Platforms like ZKP2P, PayDece, and Capa, which facilitate conversion between fiat and cryptocurrencies, processed substantial volumes.

For example, Capa registered nearly $30 million and PayDece about $27.8 million up to July 2025. Other options such as Picnic, Exa, and BlindPay function as crypto-native neobanks, integrating stablecoins, yield-bearing savings, and daily payments. These applications are particularly popular among younger and unbanked populations.

Practical Crypto Use Addresses Real-World Needs

The findings from Dune align with a 2024 Chainalysis report that identified Brazil , Mexico , Venezuela , and Argentina among the top 20 countries globally for cryptocurrency adoption. The practical applications are direct. The Latin American population uses cryptocurrencies for payroll payments, remittances, cross-border trade, and value preservation.

In Brazil, companies use crypto to avoid high bank fees for payments to suppliers in Asia. Meanwhile, in Argentina, users convert their salaries into stablecoins to protect their purchasing power.

Latin America Advances to the Forefront of Digital Payments

Latin America is surpassing Europe in the realm of digital payments, particularly in the adoption of technologies that enable transactions directly through smartphones. This is the main conclusion of the “Merchant Payment Acceptance” report by Nuek, a technology company specializing in payment infrastructure from Minsait, the technological arm of the Indra Group.

The report was developed in collaboration with AFI (International Financial Analysts). The study surveyed more than 5,200 banked consumers across 13 countries, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

The report also reveals the rapid advance of SoftPOS technology, which transforms smartphones and tablets into payment terminals, as well as the strengthening of subscription models as a new revenue stream for retail. The data shows that 62% of banked consumers in Latin America have already paid in stores using mobile solutions, whereas in Europe this rate stands at 41%.

“For decades, the acceptance of digital payments was stalled in a physical and costly model. The arrival of SoftPOS represents a paradigm shift: the mobile phone becomes the terminal itself, commerce gains agility, and costs decrease drastically,” says Javier Rey, CEO of Nuek. “This transformation democratizes access to digitalization, allowing small businesses to become part of the new digital economy.”

Subscription Payments Lead Among Young Latin Americans

The report also shows the progress of digital subscription payments in Latin America, a trend driven mainly by the youngest consumers. In the region, 58% of users between 18 and 34 years old cite speed and convenience as determining factors for adopting this model.

In Brazil, the credit card is the most used payment method, even among consumers over 54 years of age, reinforcing the country’s maturity in the so-called “recurrence economy.”

“Young people are redefining their financial relationships and transforming the way they consume. The recurrence economy, once restricted to large platforms, is beginning to expand to local commerce,” comments Rey. “The challenge now is to ensure secure, agile, and intuitive solutions from the first customer contact.”

International E-Commerce Loses Ground

Another relevant point is the low performance of international e-commerce, affected by high costs, security concerns, and a lack of integration between different payment systems. Although e-commerce in Latin America has grown by 70% since 2017, only 16% of sales correspond to international transactions. More than 70% of consumers in the region claim to have faced some kind of problem when buying on foreign websites, compared to 50% of Europeans.

“The integration between platforms and transparency in exchange rates are crucial to unlocking the potential of global digital trade. We believe that technological interoperability is the path to global, secure, and frictionless payment experiences,” concludes Rey.