The Latin American region is using blockchain-based services for payments and access to financial services, signaling that the crypto industry is serving greater than just financial speculators chasing the following memecoin pump.
Latin American residents are increasingly using cryptocurrencies to exchange the region's inadequate banking infrastructure, enabling digital payments and organising stablecoin-based savings accounts.
“The adoption in Latin America is sort of high. People use stablecoins for on a regular basis life, so it's a very different market,” said Patricio Mesri, co-CEO of the Latin American division of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. “Crypto is definitely changing people's lives. You see adoption increasing rapidly in Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia and Mexico,” he told Cointelegraph during an interview on the European Blockchain Convention 2025 in Barcelona.
The most interesting use cases include stablecoin payments to bypass the high transfer fees of the SWIFT banking network, in addition to taking out crypto-based loans for larger purchases akin to cars or houses, he added.
Fiat monetary inflation is driving Latin American regions toward stablecoins
Countries like Argentina, where annual inflation exceeded 100%, have seen a surge in demand for US dollar-backed stablecoins akin to USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT).
On local crypto exchange Bitso, stablecoin transactions accounted for 39% of total purchases in 2024 and were essentially the most sought-after digital assets, Cointelegraph reported in March.
The lack of access to banks has also led to systemic inefficiencies within the region, including technological barriers and high start-up costs, which slow the flow of investment into Latin American capital markets.
Financial gap within the LATAM region. Source: Bitfinex
However, in accordance with an August report from Bitfinex Securities, the region's liquidity latency issues could possibly be improved with the adoption of blockchain-based tools akin to real-world asset tokenization (RWA).
According to Bitfinex, tokenized products could expand investor access and produce more capital to the region as they’ll reduce the issuance costs of raising capital by as much as 4% while reducing listing times by as much as 90 days.
“For many years, firms and individuals, particularly in emerging markets and industries, have struggled to access capital through legacy markets and organizations,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether and Chief Technology Officer of Bitfinex Securities.
“Tokenization actively removes these barriers,” he said, adding that RWAs can unlock capital more efficiently than traditional financial products.
According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, Latin America was the world's seventh-largest crypto economy in 2023, trailing the Middle East and North America (MENA), East Asia and Eastern Europe.
