In Chile, People Are Turning to $USDT and $USDC to Hedge Against Inflation and Peso Devaluation

Citizens of Chile, home to one of Latin America’s most stable economies over the last several decades, are turning to stablecoins to weather a potential economic slump.

According to a report by CoinDesk, Chileans are using popular stablecoins as protection against inflation that is threatening the country and contributing to a global trend. The report notes that local crypto exchanges in the country have experienced a 50% increase in stablecoin transactions over the past three months.

Eduardo Perez de Castro, Chile country manager at Latin America based crypto exchange CryptoMarket, which hosts over 200,000 registered users in the country, told CoinDesk that the platform saw a 50% increase in purchases for two of its most commonly used stablecoins — Tether ($USDT) and USD Coin ($USDC) — during Q2 2022.

Perez de Castro said:

Today, stablecoins represent 30% of users’ total purchases, and what they mostly choose to buy if it is their first time using the platform. 

Jazmin Jorquera, chief operating officer of Buda, a crypto exchange with more than 500,000 users in Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia, told Coindesk that they were witnessing a “huge trend” in stablecoin purchases as a way for clients to gain access to U.S. dollars without going to banks or exchange houses. 

According to the report, Chile’s year-to-year inflation rose to 12.5% in June, the highest it has been in 28 years.