According to Bitso, people in Latin America use stablecoins like USDC and USDT as a store of value.
In 2024, Bitso users made most of their crypto purchases with Circle’s USDC, making it the dominant stablecoin in Latin America.
Stablecoin adoption is growing in Latin America, as Bitso’s latest report shows that more people rely on USDC and USDT for financial stability.
Bitso’s March 12 report states that USDC and USDT played a major role as a “store of value” in Latin America, accounting for 39% of all purchases on the exchange in 2024.
The report noted that stablecoin transactions on Bitso increased by 9% from 2023, marking a significant rise in adoption.
“In Latin America, challenging macroeconomic conditions, characterized by high inflation and currency devaluations, drove increased cryptocurrency adoption—particularly stablecoins—as a reliable store of value,” Bitso stated in the report.
In 2024, Bitso users traded significantly less Bitcoin, causing its market share to shrink from 38% in the second half of 2023 to just 22%, while stablecoin purchases grew.
Bitso observed that lower BTC buying activity in Latin America indicates more investors are embracing the hodl strategy, focusing on holding Bitcoin for future gains.
During the 2024 bull run, Bitcoin broke past the $100,000 mark for the first time in December, coinciding with a downturn in BTC purchases.
Read also: Paxos CEO urges U.S. Congress: Act swiftly on stablecoin or risk failure
As Bitcoin buying slowed in 2024, Bitso users increasingly moved toward stablecoins, primarily USDC and USDT, with USDC leading at 24%.
In 2024, Bitso users bought USDT for 15% of all digital asset transactions.
A detailed study of Latin American crypto trends highlighted Argentina’s strong preference for USDT, largely due to inflation soaring above 100%.
The report revealed that Bitso users in Argentina dominated crypto purchases with USDT and USDC, accounting for 50% and 22% of all transactions.
Among all the countries in the study, Argentina had the lowest share of Bitcoin transactions on Bitso in 2024, as BTC made up just 8% of all crypto purchases.
While stablecoin adoption grew, Bitcoin remained more popular among Bitso users in Brazil and Mexico, where BTC purchases accounted for 22% and 25% of total transactions last year.
