FX Monitor
Parallel FX Monitor
More than 30 economies still run, or recently ran, two prices for the dollar. One is set by the central bank. The other is what people actually pay. Swisshedge tracks both and measures the gap: live every 30 minutes where a reliable feed exists, weekly where it does not.
| Market | Official / USD | Parallel / USD | Gap | Status | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loading rates… | |||||
Parallel rates come from public peer to peer USDT offers and local market trackers. They are indicative, not executable quotes, and nothing on this page is investment advice.
2026: the year of convergence, and where pressure builds
A gap between the official and the street rate is one of the clearest inflation and capital control signals a country has. When it widens, savings lose value and import costs jump. When it closes, a reform is usually working.
2026 has been a year of convergence. Bolivia ended its 15 year peg at 6.96 bolivianos in June; the blue rate still exists but trades within about 2% of the new daily official rate. Argentina's dólar blue sits close to the official rate inside the central bank's band. Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Lebanon have largely closed their gaps.
Elsewhere the pressure is building. On Algeria's street a dollar costs close to double the official rate. In Libya it costs about 60% more. Burundi, Myanmar, Malawi and Turkmenistan run gaps of 100% or more, and Cuba's informal peso keeps setting records.
How we measure it
- Official rate: reference rates from public aggregators and local feeds, refreshed daily; for Cuba, Sudan and Yemen our editors enter the official rate by hand.
- Parallel rate: the median of live peer to peer USDT offers where that market is liquid, or the established local tracker (dolarapi for Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela, elTOQUE for Cuba).
- Gap: parallel divided by official, minus one. Under 5% counts as converged, because USDT offers carry a small premium even in free markets.
- Weekly markets: where no reliable live feed exists (Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, North Korea and others) our editors review the rate weekly and show the source date. Rates without a recent source are marked as unverified estimates.
Further reading
Parallel rate arbitrage: how the spread works, and why it rarely pays
Algeria's travel allowance, Argentina's rulo and the costs that eat the gap.
Why a Swiss platform tracks this
Exchange rates shape long term decisions about where a family lives, works and builds a business. Switzerland offers a stable franc, a predictable legal system and an economy of family owned SMEs, many of them looking for a successor. Swisshedge connects entrepreneurs with those companies and explains the residency options that can come with running one, subject to cantonal and federal approval. All clients go through standard identity and source of funds checks.
Common questions
What is a parallel exchange rate?
It is the price of foreign currency outside the official banking channel, set by supply and demand among individuals, dealers and crypto traders. It appears when a central bank fixes a rate the market does not believe.
Is the parallel rate legal?
It depends on the country. In some markets it is quoted openly in the press; in others trading outside licensed channels is an offence. This page reports prices and does not encourage anyone to break local rules.
Why do you use USDT prices?
In most dual rate economies dollar stablecoins on peer to peer platforms have become the most liquid and transparent parallel market. They show prices that thousands of people actually trade at.
How often is the data updated?
Live markets refresh every 30 minutes. Weekly markets show the date of the last review.
Rates are indicative and come from public sources. They are not quotes we can execute and they are not investment advice. Services are not available to persons subject to Swiss, EU, UK or US sanctions.