Tether Drops $20M Into Ualá, Proving LatAm Is the New Stablecoin Dating Scene 💸

Tether has invested $20 million into Argentine neobank Ualá, the stablecoin issuer confirmed as part of a broader push into Latin American financial services. The allocation was part of a $197 million equity funding round disclosed by Ualá in March, which was led by Allianz X. Ualá identified Tether as a participant in the round at the time but did not initially disclose the size of its investment, according to reporting from Bloomberg.

The latest deployment follows a $20 million investment Tether announced in July into Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin, aimed at supporting the expansion of onchain infrastructure across the region. In April, Tether also led a $14 million Series A funding round for Argentine crypto platform Belo, which included participation from Titan Fund, The Venture City, Mindset Ventures, G2, and other existing investors.

Tether issues USDt (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, which stood at $184.4 billion at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap. The company has framed its Latin American investments as part of a strategy to broaden access to dollar-denominated digital assets in markets with high inflation and currency volatility.

Ualá, founded in 2017, offers digital wallet and payment services across Argentina and has expanded into other Latin American markets, including Mexico and Colombia. The company's March funding round was reported to value it at roughly $2.45 billion, though details of the latest disclosure did not include an updated valuation.

The investment adds to a series of stablecoin-sector moves tied to Latin America, where regulators and financial institutions have taken varied positions on digital asset oversight. Tether did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment regarding the structure or terms of its investment in Ualá.