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When a country’s currency collapses so thoroughly that citizens need wheelbarrows of cash to buy groceries, people find alternatives. In Venezuela, that alternative increasingly looks like Bitcoin and stablecoins.
Jorge Jraissati, president of the Economic Inclusion Group and a fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, is bringing that message to Congress. His testimony frames Bitcoin not as a speculative asset but as what he calls “vital freedom technology” for millions of Venezuelans navigating one of the worst economic crises in modern history.
What Jraissati is telling Congress
Jraissati’s core argument is straightforward: without Bitcoin and stablecoins, Venezuela’s economy would be in even worse shape than it already is. He credits these digital assets with enabling basic economic activity in a country where the national currency, the bolívar, has been functionally destroyed by hyperinflation since roughly 2016.
Jraissati argues that Bitcoin allows citizens to circumvent financial surveillance imposed by the Maduro government, a point he frames as a matter of human rights, particularly for activists and dissidents who face the sharpest edge of the regime’s economic controls.
He authored a report on June 25, 2025, titled “Financial Repression in Venezuela and the Role of Bitcoin,” which lays out the case for how Bitcoin serves as a counterweight to economic repression. The report details how stringent price controls and currency restrictions have strangled the formal economy, pushing citizens toward digital alternatives that exist outside the government’s reach.
Venezuela’s economic collapse, explained
Venezuela has been under severe economic strain since the early 2000s, but the situation accelerated dramatically from 2016 onward. The Maduro regime imposed strict currency controls and price controls, which created shortages, black markets, and capital flight. The government’s response to fiscal shortfalls was to print more bolívares, triggering hyperinflation.
Tether’s USDT, in particular, has reportedly become a common medium of exchange in Venezuelan commerce, offering the price stability of the US dollar without the need for actual dollars or government-controlled bank accounts.
The question of government Bitcoin holdings
Estimates suggest the Venezuelan government itself holds approximately 240 BTC, valued at around $22 million. There is also ongoing speculation about larger, undisclosed holdings that haven’t been publicly confirmed. Jraissati and others have connected potential government holdings to broader discussions about post-Maduro economic reconstruction using digital assets.
What this means for crypto investors
Jraissati announced he would speak at Congress on June 25, 2026, stating it is thanks to stablecoins and Bitcoin that the Venezuelan economy is functioning. If Congress takes the testimony seriously, it could influence how US policymakers think about cryptocurrency regulation, as framing Bitcoin as a human rights tool for people living under authoritarian regimes creates a regulatory argument distinct from its use as a financial product.
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