Tether, the company behind the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, USDT, has led a pre-seed investment round in Bolivian fintech Peso, the company announced Wednesday. The undisclosed investment aims to boost stablecoin adoption and expand USDT retail payment infrastructure across Latin America.
Peso Builds USDT Payment Rails
Peso provides cryptocurrency-based savings, payments, and investment services across Latin American markets. Beyond app-based crypto management, the fintech focuses on enabling everyday payments using crypto, including retail transactions for e-commerce, ride-hailing, and food delivery.
Peso’s infrastructure manages USDT payments on Yango, a local platform that allows users to order and pay for food directly without needing fiat exchanges. The company also offers a network of point-of-sale (POS) terminals that connect USDT payments and bank accounts, enabling USDT payments and crypto-to-fiat conversions.
Expansion Across Four Markets
Tether’s investment will accelerate Peso’s current roadmap, which includes expanding its USDT-linked POS terminals and local on- and off-ramps in four key Latin American markets: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina. The expansion supports USDT as a settlement layer for retail transactions.
The investment highlights Tether’s role in supporting partners that facilitate stablecoin use and push adoption in markets like Bolivia, where USDT has been adopted as a dollar proxy. The Bolivian government is evaluating integrating USDT payments into its financial system after reversing a crypto ban policy lifted in 2024, following four years of excluding the banking system from supporting crypto transactions.
Executive Comments
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stressed that Peso was “building the kind of everyday-spend infrastructure that turns USDT from a savings tool into a payments channel people rely on daily.” He added: “By supporting Peso’s growth across the region, we aim to create a new standard for stablecoin-powered solutions.”
Alejandro Terán, CEO and co-founder of Peso, explained that the company’s objective is to facilitate USDT adoption by providing the infrastructure needed to pay with crypto seamlessly. “That a company like Tether chose a Bolivian startup for this investment is a recognition of the talent and execution capacity that exists here, and we are proud to have them as collaborators at this stage,” Terán said.
Tether’s investment in Peso follows similar moves with Orionx, a Chilean payments company, and Ualá, an Argentine neobank, as it seeks to cement its position as the leading stablecoin in Latin American markets.
