How To Buy USD With Your Local Currency

The U.S. dollar (USD) is the world’s benchmark fiat currency. It’s also the most liquid of all fiat currencies. (Fiat currency is money that has no intrinsic value and is declared legal tender by a government. The Japanese yen and Australian dollar are other examples of fiat currency.)

When an economic crisis hits, demand for USD usually jumps. This is why the U.S. dollar is widely described as a store of value or a safe haven. (This means that USD is considered a currency that you can relatively confidently store your wealth in.)

In extreme economic and financial meltdowns, demand for USD can actually outpace traditional store-of-value assets like gold and bonds. This was particularly true during the coronavirus pandemic, for example.

Read: What is Economics?

There are many ways to convert your local currency into U.S. dollars. (Or, if not into the U.S. dollar itself, then at least into a financial instrument that can track its performance.) This conversion is called foreign exchange—or forex for short.

Buy USD-Backed Stablecoin Cryptocurrencies

Want a simple way to gain exposure to the value of the U.S. dollar? Buy a type of stablecoin known as a fiat-collateralised stablecoin. (For those unaware, stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value.)

USD-backed stablecoins are very popular in the crypto space. For this reason, you can buy them from basically all crypto exchanges and brokers.

Widely used USD-backed stablecoins include Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC) and Paxos Standard (PAX).

Read: What Are Stablecoins?