CARACAS, VENEZUELA — A legislative proposal to formally eliminate Venezuela’s bolívar and adopt the U.S. dollar as the country’s official currency has gained renewed public attention this month, as private estimates put annual inflation above 500% — though economists and Venezuela’s own leading economic academy caution the country lacks the conditions to actually carry it out.
The proposal, associated with opposition figure Antonio Ecarri and economist Steve Hanke, would eliminate the bolívar entirely and adopt the U.S. dollar as Venezuela’s sole official currency — not simply formalizing the widespread dollar use that already exists in practice, but replacing the bolívar as legal tender altogether.
Diario Bitcoin’s coverage described it as the most ambitious opposition effort yet to formally retire a currency that has lost nearly all of its value over the past several years and already shares much of its transactional role with foreign currencies and stablecoins like USDT.
Venezuela’s relationship with the dollar is often described by economists as “de facto” dollarization: widespread, informal, and driven by necessity rather than law.
Prices for food, clothing, and services are commonly quoted and paid in dollars across much of the country, a pattern that intensified after hyperinflation pushed households and businesses toward the U.S. currency around 2019.