Tether said Oct. 21 it led a pre-seed round for Bolivian fintech Peso to expand local-currency access to its stablecoin across four South American markets.
Peso plans to widen deposit and withdrawal channels in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. The funding will also support its merchant payment network and virtual account infrastructure. Tether did not disclose the size of the round.
Peso’s app uses Tether (USDT) for purchases and transfers across borders, alongside savings and investment functions. In Bolivia, customers can use USDT to pay for food orders through Yango. Peso also offers payment collection tools for merchants and virtual accounts in users’ names.
The app’s existing payment options differ from the planned expansion of local-currency funding. Peso’s help center lists QR-code payments in Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. It says customers cannot yet deposit Argentine pesos, Brazilian reais or Colombian pesos.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the investment is intended to make USDT more useful for everyday purchases. The Peso round follows Tether’s Oct. 13 investment in EFY Finance, which provides stablecoin payment, account and custody infrastructure for institutions in Latin America.
