Ripio issues six local-currency stablecoins across Latin America

By Nathan Brooks

Ripio has begun issuing stablecoins linked to six Latin American currencies, according to Sebastian Serrano, co-founder and CEO, in a Bankless interview on November 9. The products cover Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Peru and draw on local licenses, banking relationships and payment networks to support savings, foreign exchange and payments.

Serrano described local-currency stablecoins as “infrastructure for crypto’s next phase,” with practical demand coming from “bills and contracts denominated in those currencies.” The issuance connects crypto services to recurring domestic money movement rather than leaving tokenized cash dependent on speculative demand alone.

What does this change for Latin American users?

The immediate change is access to stablecoins linked to six national currencies within crypto products. Users in volatile markets can use stablecoins mainly to preserve savings and manage foreign-exchange needs, while Brazilian users can use locally denominated tokens for activities suited to a steadier currency and high interest rates.

• High inflation and weak institutions have encouraged crypto adoption in parts of Latin America, including Argentina, where users tend to emphasize savings protection over speculation.
• Serrano cited Argentina, Venezuela and Bolivia as markets with substantial foreign-exchange and savings-protection needs. Venezuela and Bolivia describe broader regional demand conditions; they do not appear in Ripio’s six-currency issuance list.
• Brazil has a relatively stable currency and high interest rates. Serrano cited Brazilian bond yields of 13–15% annually, or a 1,300–1,500 basis-point annual benchmark, and said Argentine users were buying Ripio’s Brazilian real stablecoin for carry trades seeking to benefit from interest-rate differences.

The Brazilian case is not identical to the inflation-driven savings use case in Argentina. One ties tokenized local cash to yield differentials; the other focuses on currency preservation and access to foreign exchange. Serrano also cited a friend who used USDT to pay a deposit to a car dealership, illustrating how crypto can enter ordinary commerce.

From wallet provider to payment infrastructure

Ripio began in 2013 as a Bitcoin wallet in Argentina before expanding across Latin America. Around 2021, it shifted toward crypto services for banks, fintech companies and e-commerce businesses, anticipating broader integration of crypto into their products.

That distribution strategy now gives the company a base for issuing currency-linked tokens through local entities and payment rails. The transition is practical: Ripio already supports buying, holding and selling crypto for Mercado Libre’s fintech business and helped launch a token for its loyalty program.

The company’s disclosed operating scale is material for payment integration:

• Ripio said it reached about 35 million users through business partners. The figure measures reported reach across those channels, not disclosed activity in the six new stablecoins.
• The platform processes roughly 100–200 transactions per second, equivalent to 6,000–12,000 a minute at a sustained rate.
• Serrano said most Argentine stockbrokers offering crypto also use Ripio’s infrastructure.

For institutions, the relevant consequence is distribution rather than token novelty alone. Ripio can distribute tokens through services its financial partners already use, while stockbroker infrastructure offers another route for crypto distribution.

Why local payment access matters

Serrano identified access to real-time payment networks as the central benefit of local licensing. He described Latin America’s banking and payment infrastructure as strong despite currency weakness, an important distinction for operators designing settlement and cash-management systems.

Brazil’s Pix illustrates the underlying infrastructure. The system supports inexpensive, immediate transfers and connects bank payments with QR-code transactions. For stablecoin providers, local payment access can determine whether tokenized balances function as practical payment instruments or remain isolated crypto accounts.

Local entities, payment and crypto licenses, and banking relationships built over a decade underpin the issuance strategy. The Bankless interview did not identify the regulators behind those licenses, the token names, blockchains, reserve structures or redemption terms, leaving those operational details unspecified.

The next test is whether banks, fintechs and merchants can route recurring bills and contracts through tokenized local currencies. Distribution and real-time payment access now exist; evidence of repeated payment use, rather than issuance alone, will determine whether these products become durable market infrastructure.