Mexican cryptocurrency exchange Bitso reached the one million user mark in Brazil about a year after its launch, according to the company’s head in that country.
“We surpassed one million users in Brazil earlier than expected and our transaction volumes grew 66% in June compared to May,” Thales Freitas told Reuters in an interview.
Freitas did not offer detailed figures, but said that July’s readings have already exceeded the previous month despite the recent drop seen in most major cryptocurrencies.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Mexico, Bitso raised $250 million in a funding round in May 2021, which valued the platform at $2.2 billion before its debut in Brazil.
Freitas, a former Citi and HSBC executive, took over three months ago at Bitso’s second largest market, Brazil, with the mission of leading the company in an increasingly adverse scenario of intense asset volatility and higher interest rates. of interest.
To overcome these obstacles, Bitso has boosted its incentive program, offering returns of up to 15% per year on stablecoins, digital currencies linked to traditional assets such as the US dollar.
“Brazilian investors love fixed income, and stablecoins are a good way to diversify,” said Freitas.
Bitso is currently waiting for the central bank to approve its application for a payment institution license in Brazil, where it currently operates in partnership with lenders Banco Genial and Starkbank.
The so-called “crypto winter” has driven some foreign companies out of business following the sharp devaluation of digital currencies.
Bitso is now facing new competition in its own country after SoftBank-backed Brazilian crypto market Mercado Bitcoin announced last week that it planned to enter the Mexican market.
