Just a few days ago I wrote in Contxto about how DeFi, or decentralized finance, is having its big moment in the world. And without a doubt, the trend will continue: London-based Blockchain.com has announced their acquisition of the Argentinian crypto company SeSocio.
Blockchain.com called the move “the largest Latin American crypto company acquisition to date”. They haven’t disclosed the amount of the deal, but someone close to Forbes Argentina said that it was US$100 million.
More Cryptocurrencies For LatAm
Blockchain.com explained that with this they want to accelerate their presence in LatAm, boosting the adoption of cryptocurrencies here.
Today there are more than 200 million unbanked people in the region. However, the company sees an area of opportunity with cryptocurrencies as they provide easy and secure access to financial services.
The fintech’s next move is launching its physical presence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. They will also bring on board the 100 professionals who are now part of SeSocio, increasing their global team to 400 people.
Their CEO, Peter Smith, said that many Latin American countries have seen inflation at its worst. This creates a favorable environment for cryptocurrencies, and the region presents one of the biggest opportunities for crypto growth in the next decade.
This is happening because the instability that inflation causes is driving investors to take digital currencies as a safe haven. In fact, the two most famous ones, Bitcoin and Ethereum have hit record highs in recent days. Bitcoin reached just over US$67,000 in November, and Ethereum over US$4,500 in October, according to CoinMarketCap.
So far, Blockchain.com has raised US$537 million in funding and has a valuation of US$5,2 billion. They also have around 37 million verified users in more than 200 countries, to whom they offer services to monitor, buy, sell, exchange and store cryptocurrencies.
Now, with their arrival in Latin America, they seek to offer their users in the region the ability to pay with crypto for daily services, such as digital subscriptions, e-commerce purchases, and more.
You may also be interested: Mexico and Argentina are key to the fintech momentum in LatAm
