# Ripio tokenizes six Latin American currencies as stablecoins expand into payments

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/52319
Published: 2026-11-09T13:21:51.000Z
Updated: 2026-11-09T13:21:51.000Z
Section: Investing

> Ripio has begun issuing stablecoins tied to six Latin American currencies, drawing on local licenses and banking relationships to connect crypto with everyday payments.

Ripio has begun issuing stablecoins tied to six Latin American currencies, using local licenses and payment networks to support savings, foreign exchange and payments.

Stablecoins in Latin America are expanding beyond a means of protecting savings into infrastructure connecting local currencies with real-time payments. Tokenizing national currencies is widening the connection between crypto services and everyday economic activity.

In a Bankless interview on November 9, Sebastian Serrano, co-founder and CEO of Ripio, said the company had begun issuing stablecoins linked to the currencies of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Peru. Local licenses and banking relationships underpin the offering, he said.

Serrano said high inflation and weak institutions had encouraged crypto adoption in parts of Latin America, including Argentina. Users in such markets often turn to stablecoins to protect savings, placing less emphasis on speculation, he said. He described a friend paying a car dealership a deposit in USDT as an example of crypto’s integration into everyday commerce.

Demand varies by country, he added. Argentina, Venezuela and Bolivia have substantial needs for foreign exchange and savings protection, while Brazil’s relatively stable currency and high interest rates support different uses. Serrano cited Brazilian bond yields of 13–15% annually and said Argentine users were buying Ripio’s Brazilian real stablecoin for carry trades that seek to benefit from interest-rate differences.

Ripio began in 2013 as a Bitcoin wallet in Argentina before expanding across Latin America. Around 2021, the company shifted its focus toward providing crypto services to banks, fintech companies and e-commerce businesses, Serrano said, anticipating broader integration of crypto into their offerings.

Ripio supports crypto buying, holding and selling for Mercado Libre’s fintech business and helped launch a token for its loyalty program. Serrano said Ripio reached about 35 million users through business partners and processed roughly 100–200 transactions per second on its platform. Most Argentine stockbrokers offering crypto also use its infrastructure, he said.

Serrano identified access to real-time payment networks as a central benefit of local licensing. Despite currency weakness, he described the region’s banking and payment infrastructure as strong. Brazil’s Pix, for example, supports inexpensive, immediate transfers and connects bank payments with QR-code transactions, he said.

Local entities, payment and crypto licenses, and banking relationships built over a decade provide the foundation for tokenizing local currencies, Serrano said. He described local-currency stablecoins as infrastructure for crypto’s next phase, with practical demand coming from bills and contracts denominated in those currencies.