Tether Invests in Bolivian Fintech Peso to Expand USDT Payments Across Latin America

Tether has led a pre-seed funding round in Bolivian fintech Peso, the company announced Wednesday, in a move aimed at expanding stablecoin payment infrastructure across four Latin American markets. The investment, whose size was not disclosed, will support Peso's rollout in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina, where the company connects USDT to local currencies through banking and merchant payment systems.

Peso has already integrated USDT payments into Yango's food delivery service in Bolivia, enabling customers to pay for orders directly with the stablecoin. Beyond delivery, the fintech offers QR-based payments, point-of-sale services for merchants, and virtual accounts linked to Bolivia's banking system via ACH transfers. The expansion comes as other crypto-focused firms ramp up activity in the country — lending platform Tala announced a separate partnership with El Dorado on Tuesday to offer USDT-denominated loans through digital wallets on the Tempo blockchain.

The investment lands amid a worsening US dollar shortage in Bolivia that has driven both businesses and consumers toward stablecoin alternatives. Since 2025, the country has faced persistent inflation and constrained access to foreign currency, prompting the government in November 2025 to announce plans to formally integrate cryptocurrencies and stablecoins into the national financial system, including bank-level digital asset custody. In July 2026, regulators began drafting a framework that would officially recognize USDT for payments, savings, and trade alongside the boliviano and US dollar.

Tether's push into Latin America also aligns with broader strategic moves, including ongoing discussions with the National Bank of Kazakhstan on a tenge-pegged stablecoin and asset tokenization initiatives. Together, these efforts underscore Tether's ambition to embed USDT into everyday commerce and cross-border financial infrastructure across emerging markets where traditional dollar access remains limited.