State of stablecoins in Latin America

Last updated: June 2026

Executive summary 

Latin America has emerged as one of the most dynamic stablecoin markets in the world. Between 2022 and 2025, the region recorded roughly $1.5 trillion in cryptocurrency transactions, with US dollar-backed stablecoins making up the majority of these flows, according to data from Chainalysis. By early 2025, an estimated 57.7 million people in Latin America held digital currencies, representing about 12% of the region’s total population, according to Coinchange. 

Stablecoin adoption across Latin America is structural, not speculative. Stablecoins are solving concrete problems, ​​including preserving purchasing power in high-inflation economies, reducing the cost and latency of cross-border payments, and giving individuals and businesses practical access to US dollars. Regulatory developments across much of Latin America and greater access to stablecoin-powered infrastructure platforms have also contributed to increased usage in the region.  

This report examines how stablecoins are being used in practice across Latin America. It covers the structural drivers behind adoption, how use cases and adoption levels differ by country, who the key infrastructure players are, and where the regulatory landscape is heading.

Why stablecoins? The structural drivers of adoption 

Stablecoin adoption in Latin America is not a product of crypto enthusiasm. It's a response to persistent gaps that traditional financial infrastructure hasn't addressed. Three forces drive the majority of usage across the region.

Force #1: Currency instability and dollar access 

Several major Latin American economies have experienced periods of double- or triple-digit inflation, capital controls, or acute foreign exchange shortages. Argentina's peso has lost more than 99% of its value against the US dollar over the past decade. Bolivia's official foreign exchange reserves collapsed from a peak of $15.1 billion in 2014 to roughly $1.7 billion by 2023. The shortage led banks to sharply restrict dollar card spending and charge steep commissions on international transactions, pushing individuals and businesses toward informal markets and parallel exchange rates. In this environment, dollar-denominated stablecoins like USDC and USDT function as a practical savings instrument and a way to access US dollars.

The same logic applies at the business level. International commerce requires a shared unit of account, and USD remains that unit across the region. For companies that import goods, pay overseas contractors, or invoice international clients, holding working capital in USD-backed stablecoins eliminates timing risk on FX conversion and simplifies cross-border reconciliation. 

Force #2: High fees and friction in cross-border payments 

Cross-border flows between the US and Latin America are among the most economically significant — and historically expensive — payment corridors in the world. In 2024, nearly $170 billion in remittances flowed to Latin America and the Caribbean, roughly 80% of it sent from the US.

The World Bank estimates that the average cost of sending remittances to Latin America remains between 5% and 7%, depending on corridor and transfer size, with the global average sitting at 6.5% in 2025. In addition to explicit fees, senders and recipients absorb costs through foreign exchange spreads, settlement delays (typically one to three business days), and intermediary bank charges. Stablecoin-based transfers can reduce these costs substantially. 

With stablecoins, remittance fees can be reduced by as much as 92%. The exact reduction amount depends on the provider; some exchanges offer 0% for stablecoin on and offramping, while others charge as much as 4.5%. A 2026 survey of 4,600 users across 15 countries found stablecoin transfers cost an average of 40% less than traditional remittance channels. 

Stablecoins are also lowering costs for business-to-business cross-border payments, like contractor payroll and corporate treasury transfers. B2B stablecoin payment volume grew more than 730% year-over-year in 2025, with total stablecoin payments reaching an estimated $390 billion, more than double 2024 levels. B2B transactions now account for roughly 60% of that volume. Bitso Business reports that 45% of its total institutional stablecoin volume is for B2B and corporate treasury transactions.

Force #3: Limited banking access 

Traditional banking infrastructure is fragmented across Latin America. The World Bank estimates that in 2021, 122 million adults across the region did not have access to a bank account. 

Banking access has improved across many countries in the region with the rise of fintechs and digital banking services, but the range between countries remains vast: 

• Mexico: According to the World Bank's Global Findex 2025, 53% of adults in Mexico had a financial account at a bank, mobile-money service, or other institution, meaning roughly 47% had no formal financial account. 
• Colombia: Banking access in Colombia has expanded rapidly over the past decade. Adult account ownership rose from 30% in 2011 to 46% in 2017 and 57% by 2024, per the World Bank. Even so, roughly 43% of adults still had no formal financial account in 2024, leaving a large share of the population reliant on cash and outside the formal banking system.
• Brazil: Brazil is among the region's most banked markets, and access has risen sharply over the past decade. The share of Brazilian adults with a financial account climbed from 70% in 2017 to 84% by 2021 and 86% by 2024, according to data from the World Bank. Pix, the central bank's instant payment system launched in November 2020, has been a major driver of that shift; by late 2025, roughly 93% of the adult population used it. 

A country’s specific banking infrastructure landscape shapes how stablecoins enter the market. In economies with higher unbanked populations, stablecoins can act as a parallel market alternative. In more banked markets like Brazil, where Pix has reached near-universal adult adoption, fintech platforms are increasingly connecting stablecoins to existing payment rails – letting users hold dollar-denominated balances and cash out to reais via Pix – rather than relying on stablecoins as a parallel financial system.

The cost structure: traditional vs. stablecoin rails

Beyond explicit fees, the largest hidden cost in traditional cross-border payments is prefunding. Remittance and B2B payment companies have to maintain prefunded nostro accounts — cash reserves held at foreign banks — in every country they service. With two to five days of settlement lag, a company processing $1 million a day needs roughly $2 million to $5 million sitting idle in correspondent accounts at all times, and that multiplies across every corridor. Stablecoin rails offer just-in-time funding instead: settlement takes minutes rather than days, so prefunding requirements drop significantly. In 2025, Visa announced a stablecoin prefunding pilot through Visa Direct, its global payouts platform, saying stablecoin prefunding frees businesses from parking large fiat balances in advance and lets institutions move money in minutes instead of days.

Stablecoin adoption by country 

Stablecoin adoption across Latin America is not monolithic. While usage is widespread, the underlying drivers differ meaningfully by country. The following profiles highlight where adoption is concentrated and what is fueling it. ‍

Brazil 

Brazil has the largest and most structurally advanced stablecoin market in the region. Stablecoins account for approximately 90% of total crypto transaction volume in the country. Unlike markets primarily driven to stablecoins by high inflation, Brazil’s adoption is the result of a more established structural change to its economy. 

A significant share of stablecoin volume in Brazil comes from commercial activity. Brazil has a sophisticated cross-border trade economy with substantial import-export activity and a large remote contractor base. Traditional wire transfers carry FX spreads and settlement delays that stablecoins meaningfully lower, making them an appealing option for businesses and payroll providers. 

​​When payments are received, businesses often prefer to hold balances in USD-backed stablecoins rather than converting immediately to reais. This reduces exposure to currency volatility. The availability of Pix, which saw a 53% increase in payment volume year-over-year in 2024, has also created a foundation for stablecoin integration that other markets lack.

On the regulatory front, Brazil has implemented one of the most comprehensive virtual asset service provider (VASP) frameworks in the region. VASPs are required to follow the same regulatory and compliance standards as other financial institutions in the country. 

VASPs are also subject to cross-border transaction limits and detailed reporting obligations on foreign exchange transactions. The central bank reclassified stablecoin cross-border transfers as foreign-exchange operations in November 2025, bringing stablecoin providers under the same reporting and transaction monitoring obligations as traditional FX operators.

Brazilian officials have floated extending the IOF (Imposto sobre Operações Financeiras) tax to stablecoin flows, which would close the regulatory gap that currently makes stablecoin rails cheaper than traditional FX channels. Industry groups representing more than 850 companies have objected, arguing it would be unlawful and would harm innovation, and in March 2026 the finance minister delayed the tax consultation amid election-year tensions with Congress. The question remains unresolved and is one of the most consequential regulatory issues in the region for 2026.

In April 2026, the central bank went further with Resolution BCB No. 561, which bars regulated electronic-FX providers – payment institutions, e-money issuers, and acquirers – from using stablecoins or other crypto to settle the offshore leg of cross-border payments. Effective October 2026, settlement with overseas counterparties must run through traditional FX operations or non-resident real accounts. Individual crypto activity is unaffected, and licensed virtual asset service providers can still use stablecoins for cross-border payments under the separate Resolution 521 framework. Analysts expect the rule to raise the cost of cross-border payments and remittances by reintroducing bank spreads, correspondent fees, and multi-day settlement where stablecoin rails had offered near-instant, lower-cost transfers.‍

Bolivia 

Bolivia's stablecoin adoption is shaped by an acute foreign exchange crisis. Bolivia's official foreign exchange reserves collapsed from a peak of $15.1 billion in 2014 to $1.7 billion by 2023, and the country's liquid dollar reserves fell to as little as $73 million in late 2025. The limited access to dollars, plus dollar card spending caps, have forced individuals into informal markets with parallel exchange rates. In this environment, stablecoins have become a functional substitute for access to dollars. 

At the business level, companies that rely on imported goods are increasingly paying foreign suppliers in USDT or USDC, acquired via peer-to-peer or over-the-counter platforms. At the consumer level, startups like Meru – a local crypto wallet built on Stellar – enable everyday stablecoin payments, allowing users to purchase at local merchants via QR codes and at global merchants via Rain-issued cards, enabling consumers to make more global purchases than they would otherwise be able to. Another major player is Takenos, a consumer financial platform that enables freelancers and contractors to receive cross-border payments, hold balances in stablecoins and other currencies, and spend or transfer funds across 20 countries. 

Bolivia is one of Rain's fastest-growing Latin American markets, with card spend growing more than 6x in 2025. Nearly all of that activity is cross-border. Both businesses and consumers are using stablecoin-funded cards to buy international goods and services they can't easily pay for in local currency. Spend is concentrated at global digital marketplaces (Alibaba, Amazon, eBay), ad networks (Meta, Google, TikTok), travel platforms (Airbnb, Booking, Avianca), and software providers (Apple, Google Workspace, OpenAI).

Argentina 

Stablecoin adoption in Argentina is primarily inflation-driven. Years of severe inflation – which year-over-year peaked near 300% in 2024 before easing to roughly 30% in 2025 – combined with capital controls and foreign-exchange restrictions, have made dollar-backed stablecoins a default savings instrument for many households and small businesses.

The scale of that demand is broad. Argentina was the second-largest crypto market in Latin America between July 2022 and June 2025 by transaction volume, at $93.9 billion, behind only Brazil, and stablecoins make up more than half of all crypto exchange purchases in the country. Inflation, currency volatility, and capital controls push households and businesses toward dollar-linked stability for savings, remittances, and commerce.

On the regulatory front, Argentina has moved from a largely informal market toward a more defined framework. Under President Milei, attitudes toward crypto became markedly more permissive, and in 2025 the securities regulator (CNV) introduced a mandatory registration regime for virtual asset service providers. The central bank has also moved toward letting banks offer crypto services, signaling a gradual shift from peer-to-peer and exchange channels toward greater institutional participation.

Colombia 

In Colombia, stablecoin usage is primarily concentrated in cross-border money movement and remittance payments. Colombia's remittance market totals roughly $10 billion annually and reaches 40% of the population, bolstered in recent years by a weak local currency, and stablecoins provide an alternative to traditional remittance providers by offering faster settlement and often lower costs. 

MoneyGram debuted its stablecoin-powered app first in Colombia, citing the country's status as a major inbound remittance corridor and strong demand for dollar-linked assets amid a depreciating peso.

Beyond consumer remittances, stablecoin usage in Colombia has grown among businesses and contractors, particularly for cross-border invoicing, supplier payments, and treasury management. Colombian law requires that payments between domestic residents be settled in pesos, which limits stablecoin use in purely domestic transactions, but cross-border payments are unaffected. 

Notably, 99% of purchases made with Colombian pesos on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges flow directly into stablecoins, suggesting that for most users, dollar-denominated assets are the primary reason to enter the digital asset market in the first place. Colombia ranks fifth in Latin America by total crypto transaction volume at $44.2 billion, behind Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela. The number of Rain-issued cardholders in Colombia has grown by 64 times since the start of 2025. 

Mexico 

Mexico received a record $64.7 billion in remittances in 2024, the vast majority sent from the US. It’s the single largest remittance corridor in the world, exceeding $55 billion in 2022. What makes stablecoin adoption here particularly notable is that this corridor is already one of the most competitive and liquid in global payments. Major providers like Western Union, MoneyGram, and Wise have all invested heavily in US to Mexico payments, and Mexico's SPEI instant payment infrastructure enables same-day peso settlement. 

Despite this access, stablecoins are gaining meaningful market share. Stablecoins are increasingly being used for remittance payments, with Bitso Business alone processing about 10% of total US to Mexico payouts. 

Stablecoins accounted for 36% of crypto purchases in Mexico in the first half of 2025, led by USDC, which is still below the Latin American average of 46%.

Uruguay

With relatively stable macroeconomic conditions and a highly banked population – about 74% of adults hold a financial account – Uruguay's stablecoin adoption is less crisis-driven and more infrastructure-led.

The country enacted legislation in 2024 (Law No. 20,345) formally recognizing virtual assets and assigning oversight to the Central Bank of Uruguay, creating one of the region's cleaner compliance pathways for exchanges and payment platforms. The regulatory clarity helped drive fintech innovation in Uruguay. 

Across the region, regulatory clarity correlates strongly with institutional participation. Markets with defined supervisory frameworks, like Brazil and Uruguay, see greater integration by banks, remittance providers, and payment processors. 

Key players in the region 

Exchanges and institutional platforms 

Bitso

Bitso is one of the largest crypto platforms in Latin America, supporting more than 10 million retail users and more than 2,000 institutional clients. Bitso processed roughly 10% of the total US to Mexico remittance market. 

Bitso's institutional arm, Bitso Business, crossed $80 billion in annualized total payment volume in 2025, making it the largest stablecoin payments platform in the region. Beyond remittances, Bitso Business offers a suite of enterprise services spanning multi-currency accounts, payments, FX and FX-as-a-Service, trading, stablecoin orchestration, and treasury management across Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, the US, and Europe. 45% of its institutional volume is for B2B and corporate treasury transactions, and stablecoin adoption among its institutional clients doubled between H2 2024 and H1 2025. Local payment flows in Mexico alone exceeded $15 billion in 2025, cementing Bitso Business as a key infrastructure provider for global companies operating in the country.

Bitso has also expanded into stablecoin issuance. It launched MXNB, a Mexican peso–backed stablecoin issued through its subsidiary Juno, and co-launched BRL1, a Brazilian real–pegged stablecoin, alongside Mercado Bitcoin, Foxbit, and Cainvest.

Ripio

Ripio is one of Latin America's largest crypto exchanges, operating across Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and beyond. In addition to exchange services, Ripio has built out a suite of local currency stablecoins, including wARS (Argentine peso), wBRL (Brazilian real), and wMXN (Mexican peso), designed to facilitate domestic-denominated payments and cross-border settlement without requiring conversion to USD. The local stablecoin suite positions Ripio as both an exchange and an infrastructure layer for regional commerce.

Neobanks 

Mercado Pago 

Mercado Pago is the payments arm of Mercado Libre, Latin America's largest e-commerce platform. Mercado Pago launched MeliDolar (MUSD), a USD-backed stablecoin developed in partnership with Ripio, now available in Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. As of September 2025, over $65 million was in circulation. Mercado Libre recently discontinued its original crypto token, Mercado Coin, which was used for rewards balances on the platform. Going forward, the platform will offer rewards through MUSD. 

Nubank

Nubank is the largest neobank in Latin America, with over 130 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Product offerings include digital accounts, cards, lending, and investment services. Nubank added stablecoin support in December 2023 and began offering yield on USDC in January 2025, becoming one of the first financial institutions to do so in the region. USDC is the second most popular asset among customers making their first crypto purchase.

Consumer wallets and payments platforms  

Belo

Belo is a major consumer fintech app operating primarily in Argentina, with expansion across Latin America. It enables users to hold stablecoins that earn yield via Aave's DeFi protocol, and to spend, transfer, or receive payment in both local currency and stablecoins. Its user base accounts for more than 8% of the region's active crypto users. Belo is notable for bridging the gap between savings, yield, and everyday spending within a single interface—a model that other platforms are beginning to replicate. Belo users access global merchants via Rain-issued cards.

Meru

Built on Stellar, Meru is one of the leading examples of real-world stablecoin adoption in Latin America. The platform enables individuals and businesses in Bolivia to access digital dollars, make local payments via QR codes, and transact globally through Rain-issued cards.

By providing access to market-based exchange rates and seamless USDC payments, Meru helps users preserve value, reduce transaction costs, and participate more effectively in both local and international commerce. The platform demonstrates how stablecoins can solve tangible economic challenges and drive financial inclusion in markets with limited access to dollars.

Takenos

Takenos is a consumer financial platform focused on cross-border money movement and global payments across Latin America. It enables freelancers and contractors to receive cross-border payments, hold balances in stablecoins and other currencies, and spend or transfer funds across 20 countries. Built on Solana, Takenos has processed over $560 million in volume and reported roughly 20% month-over-month growth throughout 2025, with a $10 million seed round co-led by Variant and Lattice. Takenos enables cross-border spending via Rain-issued cards.

Félix Pago

Félix is a WhatsApp-native remittance and financial services company built for Latino immigrants in the U.S. The company allows users to send money to Latin America as easily as sending a message, while using stablecoins such as USDC as part of its behind-the-scenes settlement infrastructure. Rather than exposing users directly to crypto, Félix leverages stablecoin rails to reduce FX and operational inefficiencies, improve settlement speed, and connect U.S. dollar flows to local payout networks across Latin America. Félix has processed more than US$6 billion in remittances and currently serves key U.S.–Latin America corridors including Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Peru.

USD vs. local currency stablecoins 

Because accessing US dollars remains one of the primary reasons businesses and individuals use stablecoins, the biggest tokens used in Latin America remain USD-backed. USDT and USDC together account for more than 90% of stablecoin transfer volume on exchanges as of mid-2025. USD stablecoins rose from around 60% in 2022 to more than 90% in 2025. For most cross-border and treasury use cases, USD tokens are the natural default, offering deep liquidity, near-universal acceptance, and a shared unit of account for international commerce.

But dollar access isn't the only draw. Local currency stablecoins like BRL1, pegged to the Brazilian real, let businesses price, invoice, and settle domestically without converting to and from USD, and give consumers a more functional version of the money they already hold. The trade-off comes down to liquidity and acceptance: USD tokens offer cross-border utility but may require conversion for domestic pricing, while local tokens reduce domestic FX friction but depend on regulatory clarity and banking integration to scale. Current volumes suggest USD stablecoins will stay dominant for cross-border and treasury functions, while local tokens grow within regulated domestic ecosystems.

Conclusion 

In the past few years, stablecoin adoption in Latin America has shifted from a handful of isolated use cases to one of the most diverse and active ecosystems in the world. 

The adoption drivers across the region vary by country. Currency instability, expensive cross-border rails, and uneven banking access are structural features of the region's economy. As long as those conditions persist, demand for stablecoin-denominated savings, payments, and treasury management is likely to continue growing alongside the infrastructure being built to support it.

Looking ahead, regulatory changes across the region will influence how both consumers and businesses engage with stablecoins. The use cases that have taken hold across Latin America, and the infrastructure being built to support them, represent some of the clearest real-world examples of stablecoins meaningfully impacting how consumers and businesses operate financially.