Brazilian Firms Turn to Stablecoins During Sunday's Election to Avoid Currency Plunge

October 28: According to CoinDesk, Brazilian companies turned to stablecoins during last Sunday's (October 25) election to hedge against a sharp depreciation of the local currency. Crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin said corporate accounts contributed 78% of that day's trading volume. On election day, USDT trading volume jumped nearly 800% from the same day a week earlier, more than 3x the average of the previous four Sundays; Bitcoin trading volume grew 865% versus the same day a week earlier. Biscoint data showed USDT/real volume rose 150% and USDC rose 318% compared with the same day a week earlier.

Mercado Bitcoin research analyst Pedro Fontes said that amid heightened exchange-rate pressure, stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are a simple way to dollarize part of one's assets. On Monday, the companies' concerns materialized: Brazil's benchmark Ibovespa stock index plunged 14%, its worst performance since March 2020; the dollar rose more than 8% against the real, the largest single-day gain since 1999. On Monday, combined USDT and USDC trading volume reached 1.84 billion reais (about $350 million), 65% higher than the previous week.