USDT Holds Near 100% Stablecoin Share Across Latam: Oobit

A new Oobit report finds that $USDT is doing the heavy lifting across nearly every Latam stablecoin market it operates in, effectively serving as the region's de facto dollar proxy. The payments company also noted that stablecoins are being used much like cash — not a flex, just a means of exchange.

Key Takeaways:

• Oobit reports $USDT holds near 100% of stablecoin market volume across Latam, locking in Tether's regional dominance.
• Brazil activity grew 202% since launch, with Oobit connecting self-custody wallets to Visa's 150M merchant network.
• Colombia became Oobit's 9th live market, expanding daily cash-like crypto usage for local economies.

Oobit Highlights Tether's Domain Over Latam's Stablecoin Markets $USDT is already the largest stablecoin by market cap globally, but it apparently has a particular grip on Latam. Payments and remittance firm Oobit published a report showing $USDT's dominance across nearly every market in the region where it operates.

Citing data from Artemis and Obchakevich Research, the report states that "$USDT absolutely dominates the region's stablecoin transaction volumes: in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador it is effectively 100%, in Colombia around 98%, and in Chile and Brazil roughly 90%."

The one exception is Argentina, where USDC — $USDT's main rival — actually claws out a relevant share at 46% of volumes. Even there, though, $USDT still commands 53%. Oobit also flagged broader growth across Latam stablecoin markets, with Brazil posting 202% activity growth since launch and active users averaging 20 transactions per month. The company recently went live in Colombia, its ninth market.

Oobit's setup is built around cash-like stablecoin use. Users can spend directly from self-custody wallets like Phantom, MetaMask, and Trust Wallet anywhere a merchant takes Visa. "We convert stablecoins to fiat instantly on regulated Visa rails: the merchant receives local currency in seconds, and the user never leaves the crypto ecosystem," the company said, giving users access to Visa's 150 million merchant network. The model, in Oobit's view, lets it tap into what people actually spend stablecoins on.

Spending data backs that up: grocery stores (35%), restaurants (8.8%), department stores (5.3%), and fast food (4.1%). Stablecoins, the report concludes, have become the crypto equivalent of cash — practical, not performative.