Venezuela faces a shortage of US dollar supply, prompting small and medium-sized enterprises to turn to cryptocurrencies to maintain production.

Foresight News reports, according to Reuters, that Venezuela faces a severe US dollar shortage in early 2026, forcing small and medium-sized enterprises to raise product prices and turn to cryptocurrencies to sustain production. Relevant analysis shows the official US dollar auctions in early 2026 decreased by 13% compared to the same period in 2025, with the total auction amount from mid-January to early March reaching 1.3 billion US dollars.

Since the official foreign exchange allocation system favors large food, medical, and chemical companies, many medium-sized pharmaceutical and chemical suppliers have had their requests for foreign exchange repeatedly rejected. To import essential production materials, these companies are forced to resort to the more expensive informal market or use cryptocurrencies for payments. This phenomenon has driven up production costs and pushed Venezuela's inflation rate to 600%. A survey by Venezuela's private manufacturing trade association Conindustria shows that 58% of medium-sized business owners consider the shortage of foreign exchange as the main obstacle to production.