On October 15, 2026, blockchain analysis firm Allium published its third-quarter report: stablecoin supply closed September at $305 billion, just 0.4% more than at the start of the year, while payments grew 45%, to $482 billion. The number of payments rose 71%, to 1.04 billion, and the average payment fell from $544 to $462. According to CoinDesk, the 45% comparison is against the same nine months of 2025.
When we talk about stablecoins, we usually focus on how much volume is in circulation. But this report looks at the phenomenon from another angle: the same amount of digital dollars is changing hands more often and in smaller amounts. That’s consistent with what you’d expect from a payment method, rather than an asset for hoarding.
Our thesis: in Latin America, stablecoins are being adopted as invisible infrastructure for payments between companies and across borders, integrated into financial tools that companies already use, rather than as a standalone crypto product.
The number worth remembering
Allium’s figures come from a very demanding filter. Out of $97.9 trillion in gross stablecoin transfers, the firm discards flows from exchanges, decentralized finance, infrastructure, automated operations, and issuance and burns, leaving only 2.5% as end-user activity, around $2.4 trillion. The $482 billion in payments is a portion of that slice. What’s more, Tron settled two-thirds of the value of those payments, and Tether’s USDT accounted for 84%.
As a caveat, it’s worth noting that Allium’s report is global. It doesn’t break down how much of that growth corresponds to Latin America, so the specific regional impact of this trend remains unknown.
How is stablecoin adoption doing in Latin America?
The signals in Latin America are coming from companies and investors. Recently, Jeeves, a corporate finance platform for companies operating in multiple countries, announced a $110 million round led by CoinFund. The company says that eight months ago its stablecoin-settled activity was practically zero, and today it’s running at an annualized pace of $1.5 billion. Among its clients in Colombia, it lists Alpina, Addi, Bold, and Cabify.
In Brazil, Ruvo raised $4.6 million in a seed round led by 1Confirmation for its cross-border stablecoin payments platform, and Argentina’s Tapi bought Arcus from Mastercard to expand its payments infrastructure, with Mexico as its main market. Meanwhile, Yuno announced a partnership with Cyclops for stablecoin payments and settlement.
With some nuance, the investment landscape seems to be tracking along. According to Crunchbase, Latin American startups raised $1.3 billion in the third quarter, 26% more than last year, but 9% less than in the second quarter. Ana Cristina Gadala-Maria, of QED Investors, told Crunchbase that interest is concentrated in AI-native businesses and financial infrastructure, “particularly stablecoins and cross-border payments.”
The bullish case for B2B crypto payments
A company that bills in dollars and pays suppliers or salaries in pesos depends on bank transfers that take days and carry high fees. Blockchain can solve cross-border payments quickly, in exchange for a negligible fee. And stablecoins—cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to a fiat currency—make the transaction predictable and legible, sparing everyone involved from the volatility of other cryptocurrencies.
CoinDesk reported that Stripe is working with Plasma on cards with balances in dollars, euros, reais, Mexican pesos, and Colombian pesos alongside stablecoins. Patrick Mollard, CEO of Fipto, told the outlet that companies “don’t want separate crypto infrastructure” from their financial operations.
There’s a more modest reading of this. Venture capital follows the narrative of the moment, and “stablecoins for B2B payments” is one of the most recurring ones. A big round or an acquisition isn’t proof of adoption—it only proves that there are investors willing to bet on that narrative.
Inconclusive evidence
Three conditions would need to be met for us to strengthen our bullish case:
- Allium or another firm should publish payment figures broken down by country or region.
- The startups leading this trend should report stablecoin-settled volume in their upcoming announcements, using a transparent and common definition.
- Regulation should remain favorable to digital dollar settlement.
If the bullish view holds up, competition in Latin American cross-border payments will no longer be between banks, but over who best integrates stablecoins without the customer noticing they’re using them. Perhaps the future of crypto is to become invisible infrastructure, woven into financial products, cutting out friction “under the hood.”