Key takeaways
- Tether backed Ualá with $20 million in a $197 million funding round, accelerating the neobank’s expansion in Latin America.
- Ualá will use the capital to target Mexico and Colombia, although banking rules block stablecoin integration.
- The deal completes a wave of investments in Tether, positioning the company to take advantage of Latin America’s fintech boom.
Tether intensifies its bet on Latam with a $20 million investment in Ualá
The integration of cryptocurrency and traditional finance in Latin America is growing, as capital seeks to position itself to benefit from the rise of fintech alternatives in the region.
Tether, one of the largest companies in the world cryptocurrency was revealed to be part of a funding round supporting Ualá, an Argentine neobank focused on Argentina, Mexico and Colombia, with a user base of over 11 million.
Although the round was announced in March, the company only recently revealed the involvement of Tether, which committed $20 million to Ualá’s expansion bid in the region. The round, led by Allianz
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, praised Ualá’s achievements, noting that it had built “one of the most ambitious and widely used digital financial platforms in Latin America.”
“Its growth reflects the enormous demand in the region for more accessible, efficient financial services designed around consumer needs. We are pleased to support the Ualá team as they continue to invest in technology and expand their reach.” he declared.
Pierpaolo Barbieri, founder and CEO of Ualá, welcomed Tether to the ranks of the neobank’s backers, emphasizing that its involvement “reinforces our conviction in what we are building: the most complete and disruptive financial ecosystem in the region”, hinting at new investments in technology to redefine the financial experience for millions of people.
Barbieri clarified that the investment would not include any stablecoin integration on its platform, as Ualá operates as a licensed bank in these markets and regulations would prevent these actions. However, according to reports, the Central Bank of Argentina is studying the possibility of allowing banks to offer crypto services as early as this year.
But Ualá’s main target is Mexico, which Barbieri sees as a market where the neobank can achieve significant penetration. “There is certainly competition in Mexico, but the total addressable market is infinite” he told Bloomberg.
With the move, Tether completes a wave of investments in similar Latam-focused fintech companies, including a recent $20 million investment in Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin and participation in Argentine cryptocurrency platform Belo’s $14 million Series A funding round in April.
