Brazilian companies accelerated stablecoin purchases ahead of the October 25 general election to hedge against a potential currency plunge, with crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin reporting that corporate accounts drove 78% of trading volume on election day. USDT trading volume surged nearly 800% compared to the same Sunday one week earlier—more than triple the average of the prior four Sundays—while Bitcoin volume jumped 865%. Data from Biscoint showed USDT/real volume rose 150% and USDC volume climbed 318% versus the previous week. The firms' fears materialized on Monday when Brazil's benchmark Ibovespa stock index plunged 14%, marking its worst single-day performance since March 2020, while the US dollar gained more than 8% against the real in its largest daily advance since 1999. Combined USDT and USDC trading volume reached 1.84 billion reais (approximately $350 million) on Monday, up 65% from the prior week. "Amid heightened exchange-rate pressure, stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are a simple way to dollarize part of one's assets," said Mercado Bitcoin research analyst Pedro Fontes.