The Trump administration is taking aim at Brazil’s payment infrastructure, worried that the country’s push for non-dollar channels — including the instant payment system Pix and the rapid growth of dollar-pegged stablecoins — could erode the greenback’s role in global trade. Dollar stablecoins now make up about 90% of Brazil’s crypto transaction volume, according to data cited by U.S. officials. Washington views that concentration as a potential threat to dollar-based trade, especially as Brazil promotes alternatives.
Why Pix and stablecoins are in the crosshairs
Brazil’s central bank launched Pix in 2020, and it quickly became the country’s dominant payment method. But the real concern for U.S. policymakers is the parallel rise of stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to the dollar that Brazilians use for savings, cross-border payments, and everyday transactions. Because these stablecoins are dollar-denominated, they don’t directly challenge the dollar’s supremacy. Yet the fact that they operate outside traditional banking rails, and that Brazil is actively encouraging non-dollar settlement systems, has drawn scrutiny.
Washington sees a slippery slope: if a major economy like Brazil normalizes payment flows that bypass the dollar, other nations could follow. The Trump administration has signaled it may use trade leverage or financial sanctions to push back.
The scale of stablecoin adoption in Brazil
Roughly 90% of Brazil’s crypto transactions involve dollar-linked stablecoins, a figure that dwarfs local-currency crypto activity. That means Brazilians are effectively using dollar tokens more than the real in some digital contexts. The trend has accelerated as inflation and currency volatility erode confidence in the real. Stablecoins offer a digital dollar that’s easy to move, store, and spend — no bank account required.
Brazil’s central bank has taken note. It’s developing its own digital currency, the Drex, but that project is still in pilot stages. Meanwhile, stablecoin usage keeps climbing.
What this means for US-Brazil relations
The timing isn’t great. Brazil and the U.S. have had a rocky trade relationship, and this new friction over payments could spill into broader negotiations. Brazil’s government has defended Pix and stablecoins as tools for financial inclusion, not as a deliberate challenge to the dollar. But the Trump administration appears unconvinced.
No official statements have been made public yet, but sources inside the Treasury Department say the issue is now a “priority.” The next concrete step could come as early as next month, when U.S. and Brazilian trade officials are scheduled to meet. Whether Washington will demand limits on stablecoin usage or push for a formal agreement to keep transactions in dollar-based systems remains an open question.
