Tether has made a strategic investment in Parfin, a digital asset platform with operations in London and Rio de Janeiro. This investment aims to significantly expand the adoption of USDT within Latin America's institutional market and bolster the region's on-chain settlement infrastructure.
The move positions USDT as a crucial institutional settlement rail for a variety of financial applications, including cross-border payments, the tokenization of real-world assets, and credit markets linked to trade finance, commercial invoices, and card receivables.
About Parfin
Founded in 2019, Parfin specializes in building the infrastructure that enables institutions to custody, tokenize, and transact digital assets. The company has demonstrated its commitment to regulatory compliance and expansion in Latin America. In October, Parfin successfully secured official registration as a Virtual Asset Service Provider in Argentina, earning recognition from the country's financial regulator. Parfin has been actively operating in Brazil since 2020.
Tether's Vision for Latin America
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, expressed his confidence in Latin America's potential, stating that the investment reflects a strong belief in the region as a global powerhouse for blockchain innovation. While the specific investment amount was not disclosed, this development follows Tether's recent investment in the Bitcoin-backed lending platform Ledn.
Latin America's Growing Crypto Market
USDT is currently the world's largest stablecoin, boasting a market capitalization of approximately $183.73 billion, according to data from DefiLlama. The total market capitalization for all stablecoins stands at around $303.2 billion. Latin America has rapidly emerged as a prominent crypto hub, with the region recording nearly $1.5 trillion in crypto transactions between July 2022 and June 2025, as indicated by an October report from Chainalysis.
Brazil leads this surge with $318.8 billion in crypto inflows, accounting for nearly one-third of all activity in Latin America. Argentina follows with $93.9 billion in crypto inflows. A primary driver for crypto adoption in Latin America is protection against inflation. Argentina, in particular, has been grappling with soaring inflation for years, experiencing a significant peso run in September that compelled the central bank to allocate over $1 billion.
Stablecoins have proven to be an effective solution in this environment. A report released in March by Bitso, a crypto exchange based in Mexico, highlighted that stablecoins have become a vital store of value for many Latin American citizens. In 2024, USDT and Circle's USDC together constituted 39% of all crypto purchases made on Bitso's platform.
Bridging Financial Gaps and Empowering Users
Latin Americans are increasingly utilizing cryptocurrencies to address gaps within the traditional banking system. Stablecoins are being deployed for daily payments, savings, and more affordable remittances, offering a bypass to the high fees associated with SWIFT transfers.
Marcos Viriato, CEO of Parfin, commented on the significance of Tether's investment, describing it as a powerful validation of Parfin's mission. He emphasized that this investment reinforces their vision to accelerate tokenization applications and the integration of USDT into institutional-grade blockchain and digital asset solutions. Parfin has established itself as a pioneer in developing infrastructure that aims to bring the global financial system on-chain, while rigorously upholding standards for security, privacy, and compliance.