MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Stablecoins, Solana and Ethereum: Which Blockchains Are Winning in South America?

Ask who is winning crypto in South America, and many people will say bitcoin. Brazil's tax data says otherwise. In 2025, stablecoins made up 80.2% of all crypto volume declared there, and USDT alone was 72%.

So the real race is between the blockchains that carry those dollars. If you hold SOL and want Ethereum apps, you can convert SOL to ETH in minutes. But first, who is actually ahead?

Why stablecoins took over South America

The short answer: people want dollars that move fast.

Chainalysis puts Latin America's crypto economy at $593.8 billion in the 12 months to June 2026. That is up 9.8% year on year. By mid-2026, stablecoins made up 32.1% of the region's cross-border crypto value.

Brazil leads by a wide margin. It received $252.5 billion, or 43.7% of the whole region. Its stablecoin activity grew 495% in a year.

Argentina followed with $88.5 billion, up 15.3%. With inflation at 31.5% at the end of 2025, the reason is easy to see.

“People don't use them to save long term, but to preserve purchasing power in the short term,” said Emanuel Juárez, an analyst at HF Markets (translated from Spanish).

That is the key point. In South America, stablecoins are not a bet. They are a tool for everyday money.

So which blockchain is winning?

Here is the twist. The best-known regional report, from Chainalysis, does not name a winning blockchain at all. To answer the question, you have to choose what to measure.

We looked at four measuring sticks. Each one crowns a different winner.

1. Ethereum (by value moved)

Data: about $45.4 billion in tracked exchange transfers, roughly three-quarters of the total (Jan 2021 to Jul 2025, Dune)

Ethereum is where the big money settles. In Dune's study of Latin American exchange flows, it carried almost four times more value than its closest rival.

The surprise is what Ethereum's Layer 2 networks did not do. Base and Arbitrum moved only $23 million and $11 million in those flows. For now, people in the region use Ethereum's main chain directly.

2. TRON (by the dollar people actually use)

Data: $12.38 billion in the same exchange flows, second place; USDT is 72% of Brazil's declared volume

TRON is not in our headline, but it deserves a place on the scoreboard. Its strength is cheap USDT transfers. When most of the volume is USDT, the cheapest road for USDT wins a lot of traffic.

3. Solana (by global stablecoin speed)

Data: about $650 billion in stablecoin volume in February 2026, a global figure claimed by the Solana Foundation

Solana says it handled more stablecoin volume than any other network that month. That is a worldwide number, not a regional one. In Dune's Latin American flow data, Solana barely shows up yet.

Where Solana does appear is in investment products. In December 2025, Brazil's B3 stock exchange approved a Solana exchange-traded product priced in reais. So Solana's local foothold is more about investors than payments, for now.

4. Smaller networks (by local-currency tokens)

Data: Brazilian real stablecoins grew about 7.6 times year on year, but only about $23 million circulates

Some stablecoins track local currencies instead of the dollar. Polygon is the main road for real-backed tokens. Volumes are still tiny next to USDT, but the growth is fast.

Measuring stick	Winner	Key number
Value moved through exchanges	Ethereum	~$45.4B, about 75% of tracked flows
Dollar actually used	TRON (via USDT)	USDT = 72% of Brazil's declared volume
Global stablecoin throughput	Solana	~$650B in February 2026 (global)
Local-currency stablecoins	Polygon	Real stablecoins grew ~7.6x

Sources: Dune, Receita Federal data, Solana Foundation. Periods differ by source.

The rules are catching up

Speed attracts regulators too. Brazil's central bank is moving fastest in the region.

In November 2025, it published new rules for virtual assets. Under Resolution 521, buying or selling dollar-pegged tokens now counts as a foreign exchange operation. Reporting started on May 4, 2026.

A second rule went further. Since October 1, 2026, certain international payment providers can no longer use virtual assets to settle with their foreign partners.

“Most of that is to buy things and to shop things from abroad,” Brazil's central bank governor Gabriel Galípolo said of crypto flows in February 2025.

The message is clear. Stablecoins have become real money in the region, so they get real-money rules.

What this means if you use more than one chain

In practice, few people stick to one network. A common pattern looks like this:

- dollars sit in USDT, often on the cheapest network for transfers

- savings or apps live on Ethereum

- fast trading or newer apps run on Solana

Moving between them is a normal part of the routine. That is where a good swap setup saves time and money.

Why a SimpleSwap account makes multi-chain life easier

If you swap between SOL, ETH and stablecoins often, an account pays off.

- Price alerts. Set a target rate and swap when the market hits it.

- Exchange history. Every swap is logged, which helps with tax reports.

- Loyalty discounts. Bronze comes with sign-up and gives 5% off service fees. Higher volume unlocks up to 20%, and levels never expire.

- Address book in the app. Solana and Ethereum addresses look completely different. Saving them prevents expensive mix-ups.

With optional KYC, SimpleSwap says users often get better pricing and quicker swaps. Verified users also get full address data, including a PDF report.

FAQ

Which blockchain is most used in South America? By value moved through exchanges, Ethereum leads. By the stablecoin people use most, USDT, TRON plays a huge role.

Why are stablecoins so popular in South America? They give people quick access to dollars. With high inflation in some countries, that helps protect purchasing power.

Is Solana popular in South America? It is growing, especially through investment products. In regional payment flow data, it still trails Ethereum and TRON.

Are stablecoins regulated in Brazil? Yes. Since 2026, buying and selling dollar-pegged tokens is treated as a foreign exchange operation, with reporting rules.

Back to that 80.2%. In South America, the coin already won: it is the digital dollar. The fight now is over which road those dollars travel on, and that one is still wide open.