From dollar dependence to crypto risks: Latin America’s currency dilemma
While the dollar may have offered fleeting stability, it cemented long-term dependency and vulnerability.
For years, the U.S. dollar has loomed large over Latin America — often bringing more harm than help.
In Ecuador and El Salvador, full dollarisation meant giving up control over national monetary policy. In Argentina, mounting debt tied to the dollar sparked wave after wave of economic crises. While the dollar may have offered fleeting stability, it cemented long-term dependency and vulnerability.
Now, cryptocurrency is being hailed as the next big fix.
But is it really?
Bitcoin and its digital cousins are wildly volatile, largely unregulated, and heavily speculative. When El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021, the government ended up losing millions of taxpayer dollars after prices plummeted. And let’s not forget crypto mining’s environmental toll — it guzzles electricity, often from fossil fuels, and has been plagued by hacks and scams that have wiped out billions globally.
To citizens grappling with inflation and broken economies, crypto can seem like a lifeline. But without solid protections in place, it’s just another high-stakes gamble.
At its core, this isn’t just a currency issue — it’s a power struggle. It’s about who calls the shots, who carries the risk, and who profits when things go wrong.
Latin America doesn’t just need a new form of money — it needs economic sovereignty.
