Interlace enters Brazil as stablecoin payment activity grows in Latin America

Interlace has opened an office in Brazil and assembled a local team as the stablecoin infrastructure company expands its payment and digital asset operations across Latin America.

Interlace said the Brazil operation will connect local financial institutions, cross-border trade platforms, digital asset companies and Web3 projects with its global payment and digital asset infrastructure.

Interlace Brazil office brings a local team into the market

The expansion gives Interlace a physical presence in one of Latin America’s largest digital asset markets, with the company appointing Guilherme Santos as its country manager for Brazil.

Confirming the move on X, Interlace described its strategy as “Going global. Building local,” adding that the new office was part of its effort to make stablecoin-powered payments and digital financial infrastructure more accessible internationally.

“Our new office marks another step toward making stablecoin-powered payments and digital financial infrastructure more accessible worldwide,” the company said.

Interlace has also started building relationships with Brazil’s payment and digital asset sectors through local industry events. The company recently attended Blockchain.RIO in Rio de Janeiro, where its team met participants from the country’s financial, payments and crypto industries.

During the event, Santos joined a panel covering digital assets, stablecoin payments and financial infrastructure, placing the company’s local rollout alongside discussions about how blockchain-based settlement can connect with existing financial services.

Brazil already has significant stablecoin activity alongside an established instant-payment system. In June, crypto.news reported on Oobit, which integrated Tether’s $USDT with Brazil’s Pix network, allowing users to deposit Brazilian reais, hold $USDT, and make payments through Pix keys or QR codes.

According to that report, Pix had nearly 170 million users, while the system processed BRL 11 trillion in transactions during 2024. Oobit said blockchain settlement could run behind the payment process while users continued interacting with the same Pix-based payment methods already available through Brazilian banking apps.

Interlace has not disclosed specific banking or payment partners tied to its new Brazilian office. Its announcement instead identified local financial institutions, cross-border commerce platforms, digital asset businesses and Web3 projects as the groups it plans to support through its infrastructure.

Brazil stablecoin payments face tighter financial rules

Interlace is entering Brazil as regulators increase supervision of digital asset transactions, particularly those involving stablecoins and cross-border payments.

A July report on IMF scrutiny found that the International Monetary Fund had called for stronger oversight of Brazil’s stablecoin market after cross-border crypto flows expanded faster than traditional capital movements. The IMF said Brazil’s crypto sector had become more closely connected with the financial system, while additional rules were needed around customer asset protection, stablecoin issuance and anti-money laundering controls.

Banco Central do Brasil Governor Gabriel Galípolo had also said stablecoins accounted for about 90% of the country’s reported crypto flows, according to the same report. Regulators have cited taxation, money laundering and reserve-related risks when discussing the large share of dollar-backed tokens in local digital asset transactions.

Brazil’s central bank has already placed restrictions on how virtual assets can be used within supervised international payment channels. Resolution BCB No. 561 requires payments and receipts between regulated electronic foreign exchange providers and foreign counterparties to use foreign exchange transactions or movements through non-resident Brazilian real accounts. Virtual assets cannot be used to settle transactions inside those regulated eFX channels.

The restriction does not prohibit crypto trading or stablecoin transfers in Brazil. According to the IMF coverage, it separates regulated cross-border settlement infrastructure from private digital asset activity conducted through wallets, exchanges and other crypto services.

For infrastructure providers entering Brazil, local financial connections therefore sit alongside a developing compliance regime governing how digital assets interact with existing payment and foreign exchange systems.

Commercial interest in stablecoin payment rails has continued across Latin America at the same time. In June, Paradigm led a $9 million Series A investment in El Dorado, a regional payments company operating across 12 Latin American countries, including Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. Coinbase Ventures and Verda Ventures also participated in the round.

El Dorado said it had processed more than 5 million transactions and served more than 100,000 active users. The company also moved into business payments, combining fiat and stablecoin payment rails for corporate customers involved in cross-border commerce.

Paradigm partner Ricardo de Arruda said Latin America handles more than $100 billion in cross-border payments annually, while El Dorado CEO Guillermo Goncalvez estimated total flows could approach $1 trillion when additional business transactions are included. Goncalvez said roughly 60% of the activity involved business-to-business payments linked to imports and exports between Latin America and the United States.

Interlace plans its next Latin America stop in Argentina

Interlace is now taking its regional expansion to Argentina, where the company is scheduled to participate in the Argentina Crecimiento LATAM Digital Assets Conference from Aug. 20 to Aug. 21.

At the conference, the company said it will give a presentation covering practices from its global card-issuance projects and its plans for Latin America. The appearance follows its participation at Blockchain.RIO and comes one day after the Brazil office announcement.

Argentina has also seen financial groups experiment with stablecoins for business payments and treasury use. A July report on peso stablecoins detailed separate projects from BIND Group and Petersen Group that were being developed through digital asset subsidiaries while Argentine banks remained restricted from offering crypto services directly.

BIND Group, which manages more than $2 billion in assets and owns BIND Banco Industrial, has been developing a peso-backed stablecoin through virtual asset service provider BEN. BEN had also partnered with Circle to provide institutional clients with access to USDC for treasury management and payment applications under Argentina’s regulatory framework.

Petersen Group, meanwhile, has been working on the DIPE stablecoin with technical support from crypto infrastructure provider Lirium. According to the July report, both projects have focused on corporate functions including programmable payments, collateral management and treasury settlement instead of consumer payment products.

Interlace said its Aug. 20–21 appearance in Argentina will cover its global card issuance experience and the company’s plans for building its Latin American operations.