Leading stablecoin issuer Tether invested $20 million in Argentine neobank Ualá, taking an equity stake in a financial platform with more than 11 million customers across Argentina, Mexico and Colombia.
The investment was part of Ualá’s $197 million funding round announced in March, led by Allianz X at a $3.2 billion post-money valuation.
Tether was initially mentioned in Ualá’s announcement, and only later on unveiled the $20 million investment figure. Given the headline valuation, the investment should represent a rough 0.6% stake in the neobank’s post-money equity though the terms may differ.
Ualá offers accounts, cards, lending and investments to more than 11 million customers across Argentina, Mexico and Colombia.
The company’s CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri, according to Bloomberg, has said regulations in Argentina and Mexico prevent a near-term USDT integration and that Tether joined the round solely as a financial investor.
Tether has made several bets in Argentina and the South American region. It led a $14 million round for payments wallet Belo in April and controls 70% of agricultural and energy producer Adecoagro, which operates across Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Earlier this month it invested $20 million in Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin.
Tether funds its investments with excess capital generated by income earned from the reserves that back the USDT stablecoin, which now has $184 billion in circulation. It posted a $1.04 billion profit in the first quarter.