Venezuelan shoppers are turning to crypto like never before as major chains are approaching crypto experts to help drive consumer adoption of the technology.
That’s according to Ítalo Atencio, president of The National Association of Supermarkets and Self-Service Stores, who told national broadcaster Noticiero Venevision on November 10 that Venezuelans are now regularly paying in crypto for their groceries at stores “across the country.”
“Crypto payments will account for at least 10% of all payments made at supermarkets by the first quarter of FY26,” the ANSA president said, adding that this figure is set to surge even further as “stores master the relevant technology.”
If adoption continues at its current pace, crypto payments could become a viable alternative to fiat for the citizens of Venezuela and other inflation-ravaged nations.
Atencio’s predictions highlight the growing adoption of crypto in Venezuela as the country’s citizens turn to alternatives to the state’s failing financial system, which has struggled against hyperinflation for years.
‘Currencies of the future’
Atencio said that several major chains have turned to crypto experts to help them speed up their adoption drives.
The ANSA chief said that three major supermarket chains recently began to offer their customers crypto pay options, but he stopped short of revealing their names.
“Cryptoassets are the currencies of a future that has already arrived,” he said.
Atencio said at least one chain had reached out to Aníbal Garrido, the head of the cryptoassets department at Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas.
Garrido, he said, is training staff to integrate crypto “into everyday payments.”
A return to the crypto path
This is not the Venezuelan retail sector’s first attempt to adopt crypto pay. The supermarket chains Traki, FarMarket, and FarmaRato all began accepting crypto payments in 2019.
That adoption drive had its roots in President Nicolás Maduro’s ill-starred attempt to use crypto to revitalise Venezuela’s economy.
The move saw Venezuelan oil exporters switch to crypto as a payment tool. Maduro later issued a crackdown on corrupt officials at Sunacrip, the crypto agency he had set up to process these payments.
However, in late August this year, Maduro urged his ministers to make a “return to the crypto path.”
But retailers and payment platforms appear keen to take matters into their own hands.
Inflation running rampant
Domestic fintech firms like Crixto say they have developed wallets that let Venezuelans pay in crypto at supermarkets and other stores that do not yet have crypto pay terminals.
Other crypto firms say they are working with banks to help offer custody services for stablecoins like USDT.
USDT adoption has skyrocketed across the Latin America region in recent years. As citizens try to protect their savings in the face of rampant inflation, governments have imposed restrictions on USD-buying.
Venezuela’s own inflationary surge has hit a crisis point. In October, the International Monetary Fund said the country’s annual inflation rate was about 270%.
Some Venezuelans have complained that grocery prices are rising “every day.”
Analysts have linked the rise to a sharp rise in tension between Washington and Caracas. The US Treasury Department launched sweeping sanctions on Venezuela almost a decade ago.
