LATIN AMERICA-WIDE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Carlos Rivas and Jose Rodríguez, Nodeman
Nodeman Calle El Mirador 87 Ave Norte Colonia Escalón World Trade Center Sandbox San Salvador El Salvador
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Latin America’s Blockchain Inflection Point: How 2025–2026 Reshaped the Region’s Digital Asset Stack Latin America consolidated its position as the world’s most consequential laboratory for stablecoin utility, tokenised real‑world assets (RWAs), and pragmatic digital assets regulation during 2025 and into 2026. Driven by structural FX scarcity, expensive remittance corridors, and an unusually proactive class of regula- tors, the region moved from speculative retail trad- ing towards production‑grade financial infrastructure. Regional digital assets transaction volume exceeded USD27 billion in 2025, with stablecoins responsible for more than 90% of throughput. That composition is forcing exchanges, banks and policymakers to rede- sign for stablecoin‑first rails – with El Salvador, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico each carving out distinct stra- tegic postures. Stablecoins and remittances: the dominant rail The stablecoin thesis stopped being a thesis in 2025. In Argentina, USDT and USDC accounted for more than 70% of crypto purchases, and roughly 75% of crypto‑paid workers chose to receive their salaries in stablecoins – a pattern researchers describe as “bottom‑up dollarisation”, with citizens dollarising on‑chain faster than any official policy could deliver from the top down. Colombia and Venezuela posted similar dynamics, with stablecoins making up 52% and over 40% of crypto activity, respectively, as peso devaluation and limited dollar bank access pushed savings on‑chain.
Brazil – already operating one of the world’s most modern instant‑payment systems in PIX – recorded approximately USD89 billion in stablecoin transac- tions in 2025, more than all the countries in Africa combined. According to Receita Federal , around 90% of Brazil’s reported crypto turnover is stable- coin‑denominated, and Q1 2026 data shows the share climbing to 98% of a USD6.9 billion quarterly volume. The composition has reshaped the local exchange landscape and pulled both fintechs and incumbent banks into on‑chain settlement. Remittances are the second leg. According to Ban- co de México, total inbound remittances to Mexico totalled USD61.8 billion in 2025, a 4.6% year‑on‑year decline – the largest annual contraction since 2009, equivalent to 3.4% of Mexico’s GDP. Stablecoin rails are compressing the cost base: end‑to‑end fees on USDC and USDT transfers in the US–Mexico corridor have fallen below 1%, versus a 5–7% legacy average. Bitso settled roughly 10% of US–Mexico remittances on stablecoin infrastructure in 2024, Felix Pago pro- cessed more than USD1 billion in USDC routed into Mexico’s SPEI system, and BBVA México reported a 450% surge in USDC transaction volume in 2025 after the United States introduced a 1% federal tax on cash remittances. Central American corridors – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – captured rerouted flows and posted double‑digit growth.
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