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How Ripple-Backed Bitso Plans to Expand Cross-Border Crypto Remittance Services in Latin America

Ripple-backed cryptocurrency exchange Bitso has announced that it will expand its cross-border crypto remittance services in Latin America through a $62 million investment round.

The investment round will be led by venture capital companies Kaszek Ventures and QED Investors. Bitso, the first cryptocurrency exchange to be established in Mexico, has also disclosed that with its quest to enhance Latin America’s financial market, it aims to aid the unbanked, as 70% of its population lack proper basic financial services, such as a bank account. This time around, the investment round to expand financial services to Latin America will have a special focus on Brazil.

Speaking about the partnership with the venture capital firms to deliver financial services to the unbanked, co-founder and CEO of Bitso, Daniel Vogel, shared with Forbes:

“The level of access to traditional financial services in these regions is low and the prospect of using cryptocurrency and stable coins for cross border remittances attracted Kaszek and QED.”

Adding onto this, co-founder of Kaszek Ventures, Nicolas Szekasy, said:

“Crypto has more opportunity in regions like Latin America than the US where the banking infrastructure is more sophisticated. We’ve been looking into the space for years and we have strong conviction that Bitso is the way to go.”

Previously, Ripple had hosted an investment round for Bitso, as they have been working to enhance remittance strategies worldwide through blockchain technology and digital assets such as XRP.

According to Ripple, remittances are crucial for advancing the economy and essential for many households in Latin America. With cryptocurrencies like XRP, cross-border transactions could be made easier, quicker, and cheaper. Transactions that would otherwise have taken days to go through can be processed in a matter of seconds.

Bitso Inks Deal as the Official Sponsor of Sao Paulo Football Club

South American trading platform, Bitso has inked a partnership with the Sao Paulo Football Club to be the team’s official sponsor from now until the next three years.

As reported by Aithority, the partnership will see Bitso’s brand logo incorporated and showcased on SPFC’s official team jerseys, a move that will expand the exchange’s continent and global brand awareness strategy.

“We are very proud to announce this partnership and support the Brazilian soccer team with the most international titles. Most importantly, Bitso and São Paulo share a common goal of pursuing excellence, and, now, we will happily pursue this together from this day forward,” said Beatriz Oliveira, Head of Marketing for Latin America at Bitso. “This partnership kicks off Bitso’s support for Brazilian sports, aligned with our growth goals in Brazil as we work to demonstrate that the crypto market is reliable, secure, and simple.”

With a current customer base of over 3.7 million people spread across Latin America, the partnership with Sao Paulo FC will put the exchange into the frontlines of over 20 million fans across Brazil. The partnership also puts prestige on the trading platform which now ranks as the first trading platform to back the club which is known for its numerous international trophies.

The partnership will afford Sao Paulo FC fans to pay for tickets and merchandise through digital currencies through the Bitso platform. Additionally, as many as 18,000 seats at the Morumbi Stadium have been reserved for Bitso customers.

With the Bisto partnership, trading platforms are now confirmed to be engrafting their feet into the sports adverts scene. As reported earlier by Blockchain.News, the American cryptocurrency exchange giant FTX sponsors the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) with $17.5 million in cryptocurrency in exchange for getting the 10-year naming right of the California Memorial Stadium. Beyond this, partnership deals for sports clubs are no longer uncommon amongst blockchain and cryptocurrency trading platforms.

Top Latin American Crypto Exchange Bitso Enters Colombia

Bitso, one of Latin America’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said Thursday it will enter the Colombian market, hiring former Mastercard executive Emilio Pardo as its new country manager.

As the new country manager in Colombia, Pardo will be responsible for the development strategy for the entire country, allowing Bitso crypto exchange to integrate into the local financial ecosystem better, educating local users on cryptocurrency adoption and increasing local financial inclusion,

Pardo said the Bitso exchange is testing its products within a regulatory framework that involves the integration of banks, exchanges, regulators, and end-users.

he added that:

“As an end-to-end regulated crypto platform, we can ensure that this opportunity is putting Colombia at the forefront of innovation and regulation,”

Bitso is a Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange. It was founded on January 4th, 2014. Now officially operating in Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador, and Colombia With a current customer base of over 3.7 million people spread across Latin America.

As early as 2021, Bitso will start working with Bank of Bogotá, Colombia’s first commercial bank, to try out the exchange’s products and services.

The exchange expanded the market to Argentina in February 2020 and then entered Brazil in April 2021 supports cryptocurrencies trading including Bitcoin, Ethereum, TrueUSD, Ripple, etc.

As reported by Blockchain.News on January 10, South American trading platform, Bitso has inked a partnership with the Sao Paulo Football Club to be the team’s official sponsor from now until the next three years.

Crypto Exchange Bitso Lays off Over 10% Employees

South American trading platform Bitso announced the decision by laying off 80 employees for maintaining its long-term business strategy.

The reason for the layoffs is not regarding lack of funding, the company explained they need to optimise the manpower in a rapid change in the crypto industry.

The company’s CEO Federico Ogue announced on his official Twitter that:

“Today I come to tell you a news that hurts me a lot. Given a new global context, we are redefining our strategy to become more robust and efficient, and I want to tell you about it in this thread.”

Before the layoffs, the exchange had more than 700 employees. In February, Bitso hired former Mastercard executive Emilio Pardo as its chief executive officer in order to enter the Colombian market.

Meanwhile, the company is also actively looking for talented talents to join its team in more than 60 positions.

The Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange operates business in Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador, and Colombia With a current customer base of over 3.7 million people spread across Latin America.

The exchange expanded the market to Argentina in February 2020 and then entered Brazil in April 2021 supporting cryptocurrencies trading including Bitcoin, Ethereum, TrueUSD, and Ripple.

Bitso Reaches 1 Million Users Mark in Brazil

Bitso has now reached a mark of one million users in Brazil, a year after its release in the country, the Mexican cryptocurrency exchange announced.

Thales Freitas, Bitso’s Brazil chief, told Reuters that the company achieved the 1 million users mark in Brazil earlier than expected. He also added that the transaction volumes grew by 66% in June from May.

Freitas also told Reuters that the readings in July have already exceeded the previous month despite the market downturn. However, he did not provide detailed figures.

In Brazil, Bitso currently operates in partnership with lenders Banco Genial and Starkbank.

Bitso raised $250 million in a funding round in May 2021, which took the company’s valuation to $2.2 billion prior to its debut in Brazil.

Bitso has lifted its incentive program to tackle the increasingly adverse environment of robust asset volatility and higher interest rates. The platform is offering returns of up to 15% per year in stablecoins.

Bitso was founded in 2014 and headquartered in Mexico.

“Brazilian investors love fixed income, and stablecoins are a good way to diversify,” Freitas said.

Currently, Bitso is awaiting central bank approval for its application for a payment institution license in Brazil.

According to Blockchain.News, Bitso recently announced the decision to lay off 80 employees to maintain its long-term business strategy.

The reason for the layoffs is not regarding lack of funding but the need to optimise manpower in a rapidly changing crypto industry, the report added.

Before the layoffs, the exchange had more than 700 employees.

Bitso Rolls Out Crypto QR Payment Tool in Argentina

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Bitso, Latin America’s leading crypto exchange, announced on Thursday that it is preparing to roll out a new QR code payment tool in its wallet app that will enable users in Argentina to pay with cryptocurrency at retail shops.

The new payment method is expected to give consumers an alternative to using the Argentine peso and will be beneficial in curbing the country’s inflation.

Beginning on September 27, members of the Bitso exchange in Argentina (estimated to be more than a million users in the country) will gradually be given access to the QR code option.

In a country where inflation is approaching 80% compared to last year, and the purchasing value of the peso is falling, the QR codes will give Argentina consumers another way to save money in crypto and spend it in actual stores.

Bitso’s Senior Vice President of Product Santiago Alvarado commented: “The idea is to make crypto more useful in more places and allow all citizens to live their lives in crypto by buying everyday services.”

The Bitso wallet software will be able to scan the QR codes in many stores in Argentina and give customers the choice of purchasing using Bitcoin, Ether, the Dai stablecoin, U.S.-dollar pegged stablecoins or Argentine Pesos. At the time of purchase, Bitso will automatically convert the merchant’s crypto into Argentine pesos.

Bitso’s wallet will be able to scan QR codes from “all other systems approved by the central bank,” Alvarado said.

Why the QR code surge in LATAM

QR codes are a popular payment method in Argentina – a nation that has the highest rate of QR code usage in Latin America, according to data from the Mastercard New Payments Index.

In a historically cash-based economy where a big chunk of the population remains unbanked (over 40% of Argentina residents are unbanked and in other related countries, including Colombia, Mexico, and Peru), digital payments are surging at a high rate in Latin America. QR code payments have surged in popularity, whose widespread use was significantly triggered by the covid-19 pandemic.

QR, which stands for “quick response”, — and codes can be encrypted with payment information to facilitate contactless digital purchasing. QR codes allow consumers to make payments simply by scanning the code with their smartphone camera, which then withdraws funds from their digital wallet.

Companies facilitating QR code payments in Latin America are emerging all across the region. In Argentina, companies such as Mercado Pago, TodoPago, ValePEI, Ualá, PIM, and Rapipago allow users to pay via QR codes from their digital wallets or accounts.

The Argentina Central Bank recently spurred the bandwagon, allowing several digital payment provider companies to offer QR code payments. This marks a huge step towards transforming the payment methods of a society that traditionally depends on cash.