In the region there are several Argentine companies that are promoting the adoption of products based on blockchain and cryptocurrencies. One of them is Ripio, which recently announced the landing of its operations in Uruguay with an investment of more than USD 3 million and anticipated its arrival in Colombia with its platform for buying and selling in Colombian pesos and B2B crypto services for companies. Sebastián Serrano, CEO and founder of Ripio stated that “the landing in Uruguay is a project that we have been building for more than a year because we believe that this country has extraordinary potential in relation to cryptocurrencies. We want to become allies of all Latin Americans to bring you simple tools and provide you with reliable information regarding your personal finances”.
For his part, and regarding the arrival of the firm in Colombia, he highlighted the interest in the world of cryptocurrencies and the challenge of positioning Ripio as the brand that brings this technology closer to all segments of the population. “These projects allow us to reaffirm and materialize our mission of opening more doors of access to the crypto world.”, he added.
“We have a very ambitious project that seeks to duplicate, by 2023, the current staff of collaborators, incorporating professional talent specialized in products and technology.”, assured MartĂn BenĂtez Aramendia, Country Manager of Ripio Uruguay.
The situation in Uruguay is favorable for the crypto market. In 2018 the Uruguayan Chamber that brings together fintech companies created a Cryptocurrency Commission with the idea of ​​developing a specific regulatory framework for the sector. For 2021, the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) published a statement confirming that during that year it had a working group dedicated to studying the issue. Then through its financial innovation program, they published a document that prepares the ground for a possible regulation. Today, in Uruguay, cryptographic assets are understood as a “digital representation of value or contractual rights that can be stored, transferred, and traded electronically using record technologies”.
Since 2013, Ripio has offered technological products and digital alternatives to traditional financial solutions to reach all segments of the population. In 2021, the company acquired the firm BitcoinTrade, one of the main crypto platforms in Brazil, and then closed a Series B investment round for USD 50 million, led by Digital Currency Group and incorporating Amplo (main investors of the North American trading platform Robinhood), Marcos Galperin (Founder and CEO of Mercado Libre) and Martin Migoya (Founder and CEO of Globant) as institutional investors. Today they focus on regional expansion.