LatAm Dispatch: Inflation and Blockchain Projects in the Global South

Latin America is experiencing a unique financial revolution where cryptocurrencies are not just speculative assets but practical tools for everyday life. With extreme inflation, informal economies, and limited access to traditional banking, people across the region are turning to crypto as both an inflation hedge and an engine for real economic activity. Adoption has surged 63% year-over-year in 2025, second only to Southeast Asia driven by local startups building tailored solutions on Polygon. These projects integrate with domestic payment rails, remittance corridors, and stablecoin infrastructure, making crypto a lifeline for millions.

Key Highlights

Avenia & BRLA: Stablecoin-native bridge linking Brazil's Pix and Mexico's SPEI; processed $106.9M in October 2025.
BlindPay: Plug-and-play API for instant payouts; $198.7M in Q3 volume, 91.7% QoQ growth.
Bitso: Major player in US-Mexico remittances; $12B processed in 2024, including $6.5B in remittances.
Lemon Cash: Argentina-based wallet with 5M users; Visa partnership offers crypto-backed card with 2% BTC cashback.
Belo: Digital wallet enabling ACH deposits in dollars across 17 countries; integrates USDC/USDT on Polygon.
Mercado Bitcoin: Tokenizing $200M+ in assets (government bonds, corporate debt) on Polygon.
Capa: Stablecoin-powered cross-border commerce suite, reducing reliance on SWIFT.
DFB Network: Institutional platform for stablecoin liquidity management and cross-chain arbitrage.
Littio: Borderless dollar/euro accounts with USDC/EUROC; 200K Colombians onboarded in year one.
Minteo: Colombian peso stablecoin (COPM) backed by reserves, plus RWA tokenization.
Etherfuse: Bond-backed MXNe stablecoin for Mexico's remittance corridor.
BRL1: Real-pegged stablecoin co-created by Bitso, Mercado Bitcoin, and Foxbit.
Ripio: 8M+ users, $200M monthly volume; expanding inflation-hedge services in Argentina.

Why It Matters?

Crypto in Latin America has evolved from an inflation hedge into a full-fledged economic engine, with Polygon-powered startups driving payments, remittances, and financial inclusion. Localized solutions address unique regional challenges (inflation, remittance costs, banking barriers) with builders focusing on community-specific needs, not one-size-fits-all models.