Lưu trữ cho từ khóa: Latin America

Blockchain startup Parfin raises $10m in Series A round

Blockchain startup Parfin has secured $10 million in its Series A round, aiming to drive global expansion and bridge traditional finance with blockchain.

Mastercard-incubated Blockchain infrastructure firm Parfin has successfully closed the first tranche of its Series A funding, raising $10 million.

In a press release shared with crypto.news, the startup revealed that the round, led by ParaFi Capital, also saw contributions from Framework Ventures, L4 Venture Builder, and Núclea, with total funding projected to reach $16 million by the end of the second closing.

The proceeds from the funding are expected to help Parfin further develop its enterprise-grade blockchain platform, Rayls, increase its workforce, and accelerate its global expansion efforts throughout 2024. Parfin co-founder Marcos Viriato highlighted the strategic impact of the funding, noting that it will allow the firm to “help more banks and financial institutions realize new sources of revenue and stay relevant by leveraging the efficiency, security, and transparency of digital assets.”

Synchronizing defi with tradfi in Latin America

Founded in 2019 by Marcos Viriato, Alex Buelau, and Cristian Bohn, Parfin aims to bridge the gap between decentralized finance and traditional finance, offering financial institutions the regulatory compliance and privacy they need while capitalizing on blockchain technology.

In May, Parfin was selected for Mastercard’s Start Path program, which supports blockchain and digital asset startups with tailored training, collaboration opportunities, and access to Mastercard’s network and customers. To date, the company has raised a total of $38 million and serves clients including Banco BV, Núclea, and B3 Digitas, the digital asset services subsidiary of the Brazilian Stock Exchange.

Additionally, Parfin’s Rayls platform is now part of a pilot program with Brazil’s central bank, testing Ethereum‘s virtual machine privacy and scalability solutions for central bank digital currency initiatives.

Tổng hợp và chỉnh sửa: ThS Phạm Mạnh Cường
Theo Crypto News

Stablecoin USDT more popular than Bitcoin in Latin America, Kaiko says

Over 40% of all crypto trades in Latin America involve the USDT stablecoin, signaling a waning interest in Bitcoin, which is even trailing XRP in the region’s top trading pairs.

Stablecoins are more popular in Latin America (LATAM) than Bitcoin as stablecoin-to-fiat trading pairs accounted for more than 60% of the top 10 trade volume in the region, according to data compiled by Kaiko, a blockchain analytics firm.

The data reveals that USDT, issued by Tether, is significantly more popular than Bitcoin among Latin American traders, accounting for over 40% of all trades. Kaiko notes that this growing dominance of stablecoins has prompted local central banks to “increasingly consider” issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), though it “remains uncertain if they can compete effectively.”

Leading markets in LATAM in 2024 | Source: Kaiko

In a surprising development, in LATAM Bitcoin even lags behind XRP, a token developed by Ripple. Data indicates that the XRP/MXN trading pair has surpassed BTC/BRL by at least a billion dollars in turnover. However, Kaiko notes that XRP’s popularity in the region is mainly due to its partnership with the Bitso crypto exchange.

Despite these shifts, Binance continues to dominate the market in terms of turnover, particularly in stablecoin trades, according to Kaiko. The firm also highlighted the rapid growth of the Brazilian crypto market, with monthly BRL trade volumes averaging .3 billion, up from .7 billion in 2023. However, Kaiko says Binance’s dominance appears to be waning in the region, as trade volumes on Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest crypto exchange, more than doubled in 2024, driven by activity in both Bitcoin and altcoins.

Tổng hợp và chỉnh sửa: ThS Phạm Mạnh Cường
Theo Crypto News