Steve Hanke delivers plan to White House to officially dollarize Venezuela

U.S. economist Steve Hanke, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, has delivered to the administration of Donald Trump his proposal to officially dollarize Venezuela's economy, after a direct request from the White House, according to the outlet La Patilla on August 31, 2026.

The plan was drafted together with Venezuelan lawmaker Antonio Ecarri and seeks to formally replace the bolívar as legal tender, with the aim of eradicating hyperinflation and restoring economic stability. Hanke is also serving as an adviser to the so-called Grand Strategy for the Dollar of the Trump administration, which aims to promote the international use of the U.S. currency.

As for the chances of success of the measure, the economist estimates the probability that Venezuela officially adopts the dollar at between 50% and 80%, and argues that any decision of this kind should have the backing of citizens, according to the information published by La Patilla.

On this initiative, Hanke said verbatim: "An obvious way to promote the use of the U.S. dollar is to encourage countries to dollarize, to eliminate their worthless currency and formally replace it with the U.S. dollar as legal tender."

File photo. One-hundred-dollar U.S. bills. Photo: Revisorweb, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.