• Stablecoins can make trade finance faster, cheaper, and more transparent, improving access to liquidity for SMEs.
• Tokenisation can democratise investment in real-world assets by allowing investors to purchase fractional ownership of assets with significantly lower minimum investments.
• Despite their benefits, digital assets carry operational and regulatory risks, making thorough due diligence essential.

Just months after its $14 million Series A funding for the Argentinian cryptocurrency Belo, Tether announced that it’s backing EFY Finance’s seed round for a stablecoin expansion in Latin America (LatAm). Stablecoins are the digital currencies most commonly used for cross-border payments, and more than 99% of them are pegged to the US dollar (USD).

Tether is not alone. LatAm is attracting significant investor interest; startups in the region raised $4.7 billion in venture capital (VC) funding in 2025, up 65% from 2024. Stablecoins are leading VC inroads, with LatAm boasting the highest global adoption rates; 71% of LatAm institutions are using stablecoins for cross-border transactions.

However, while the region has seen significant stablecoin capital volumes, many systems hold ‘stranded assets’; domestic instant-payment systems silo capital, and fragmentation across national systems remains high.

Finance in LatAm topped the agenda at the Sibos 2026 conference, which, rumour has it, was held in Miami, Florida, to attract the region’s banks. During the conference, Trade Finance Global (TFG) sat down with Ximena Azcuy, Head of Network Partnerships for the Americas at Thunes, to discuss regulation, continental fragmentation, and the advantages of stablecoin adoption for volatile currencies.

International debt collection requires an understanding of local laws, cultural norms and repayment practices to maintain trust and secure payments across borders.