Top 10 Coins That Lost Value Globally: The Devaluation Map in 2025

The cheapest currencies in the world in 2025 are no coincidence. They are the result of a perfect collapse: rampant inflation, political isolation, economic sanctions, and loss of institutional trust. Meanwhile, some citizens of countries in monetary collapse exchange their currencies for cryptocurrencies, informal dollars, or simply stop using their own national currencies.

The Brazilian Real closed 2024 as the worst currency among major economies, with a devaluation of 21.52%. But this decline is just the beginning when compared to other nations facing even more drastic realities.

Factors That Destroy a Currency

A currency doesn’t weaken by chance. There are specific economic triggers that destroy it:

Out-of-control inflation: While Brazil fluctuates between 5% and 7% annually, some countries experience hyperinflation where prices double monthly. This phenomenon erodes savings and makes any monetary value obsolete within weeks.

Permanent political vacuum: Coups, civil wars, changes of government. Without legal security, international investors disappear, and the currency becomes decorative paper.

Trade isolation: When sanctions prevent access to the global financial system, the local currency ceases to be useful in international transactions. Many economies are currently facing this.

Criticized international reserves: If the Central Bank doesn’t have enough dollars or gold to support the currency, it suffers a free fall in the market.

Capital exodus: When even residents prefer to store dollars informally rather than trust the local currency, the system collapses.

The Ranking: The Ten Cheapest Currencies in the World Today

1. Lebanese Pound (LBP) - Total Devaluation

Quote: 1 million LBP = R$ 61.00 (sept/2025)

The undisputed champion. Officially, it should be 1,507.5 pounds per dollar, but this quote has not existed in reality since 2020. On the parallel market, more than 90,000 pounds are needed for 1 dollar. Banks drastically limit withdrawals, stores prefer dollars, and even taxi drivers refuse the national currency. The collapse is so profound that the population lives with two economies: the official (fictitious) and the real (parallel).

2. Iranian Rial (IRR) - Sanctions and Digital Flight

Quote: 1 Real = 7,751.94 Iranian rials

American sanctions have turned the rial into a practically unusable currency. With R$ 100, you accumulate millions in rials, but purchasing power is virtually zero. Multiple parallel exchange rates exist simultaneously.

The most interesting phenomenon here is the massive migration to digital assets. Iranian youth have adopted cryptocurrencies as a more reliable store of value than their own national currency. Bitcoin and Ethereum serve as alternative wealth protection where the traditional system failed.

3. Vietnamese Dong (VND) - Structural Weakness

Quote: Approximately 25,000 VND per dollar

Unlike crisis-hit countries, Vietnam has an expanding economy. But the dong remains historically weak due to deliberate monetary policy decisions. ATM withdrawals generate large amounts that look like fortune in paper, amusing tourists who feel “millionaires” temporarily.

For the local population, this means expensive imports and reduced international purchasing power. The country depends on tourism precisely because a weak currency attracts foreign visitors.

4. Laotian Kip (LAK) - Dependence and Isolation

Quote: About 21,000 LAK per dollar

Small economy, highly dependent on imports and pressured by persistent inflation. At the Thailand border, merchants prefer Thai baht. The kip reflects the country’s structural economic fragility.

5. Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) - The Giant with Wooden Feet

Quote: Approximately 15,500 IDR per dollar

Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy, but its currency has never gained strength. Historically weak since 1998, the rupiah remains devalued despite the country’s economic size. For Brazilian tourists, Bali offers a negligible cost of living: R$ 200 daily provides total comfort.

6. Uzbek Sum (UZS) - Slow Reform

Quote: About 12,800 UZS per dollar

Uzbekistan has recently implemented significant economic reforms, but the sum still bears the weight of decades of a closed economy. Attracting foreign investment advances slowly while the currency remains depreciated.

7. Guinean Franc (GNF) - Wealth Without Strength

Quote: Approximately 8,600 GNF per dollar

Guinea has abundant natural resources (gold, bauxite), but chronic political instability and corruption prevent this wealth from translating into monetary strength. A classic case where resources do not guarantee a strong currency.

8. Paraguayan Guarani (PYG) - Brazilian Neighbor

Quote: About 7.42 PYG per real

Our Paraguayan neighbor maintains a relatively stable economy, but the guarani remains traditionally depreciated. This makes Ciudad del Este a permanent destination for shopping and tourism by Brazilians who take advantage of the devaluation.

9. Malagasy Ariary (MGA) - Extreme Poverty

Quote: Approximately 4,500 MGA per dollar

Madagascar ranks among the poorest nations globally, and its ariary reflects this reality. Imports cost astronomically high, leaving the population with virtually no international purchasing power.

10. Burundian Franc (BIF) - The Bottom of the Barrel

Quote: About 550.06 BIF per real

Closing the ranking, the Burundian franc is so devalued that larger purchases require carrying entire bags of money. Burundi’s permanent political instability is directly reflected in the currency, making it practically useless for wealth storage.

Why This Matters to Investors

The ranking of the world’s cheapest currencies offers practical lessons on macroeconomics:

Risk and opportunity coexist: Economies with weak currencies are fragile, but trips to these destinations can be extraordinarily cheap for those arriving with foreign currency.

Trust is everything: Weak currencies indicate loss of institutional trust, unstable politics, or a failed economy. No technical adjustment can fix this.

Digital alternatives emerge: Where national currencies fail, cryptocurrencies gain adoption as a store of value—a growing phenomenon in collapsed economies.

Real lessons on inflation: Watching currencies plummet globally provides visceral understanding of the effects of inflation, corruption, and poor governance on real life.

Conclusion

The world’s cheapest currencies in 2025 tell stories of economic collapse, political isolation, and loss of institutional trust. For Brazilian investors, the lesson is clear: stability and good governance are not luxuries, but fundamentals. Monitoring these global dynamics helps understand where it is safe to allocate assets and where risks are unacceptable.