Ripple, Coinbase invest in crypto exchange Bitso to help it expand beyond Mexico

As reported by The Block, “Bitso, one of Mexico’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has raised an undisclosed sum of money from notable investors to further expand into Latin America.

“The investment was led by Ripple, with participation from Coinbase and Jump Capital. Existing investors – Digital Currency Group and Pantera Capital – also participated in the round, according to an announcement Monday.

“Bitso, which has been operating in Mexico since 2014 and claiming to serve over 750,000 users in the country, now wants to expand into Argentina and Brazil, among other Latin American nations. ‘The region is ready for disruption and we want to be the ones to do so by radically advancing financial inclusion for everyone,’ said Daniel Vogel, co-founder and CEO of Bitso.

“Indeed, 70% of Latin America’s population (or 400 million people) don’t have a bank account, as The Block reported in July. Moreover, several countries in the region have been experiencing macroeconomic challenges of their own.

“Argentina, for instance, is facing currency crises, among other issues. Last month, the country’s central bank put restrictions on US dollar purchases in an effort to revive its plunging peso. Brazil, on the other hand, recently entered into recession due to high unemployment, weak investments as well as a global slowdown.

“Due to these issues, both countries have seen their cryptocurrency activity pick up in recent months. In Argentina, for instance, the latest weekly bitcoin volumes jumped to nearly $196,000 via peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange LocalBitcoins. While in Brazil, the figure touched around $307,000…”

Continue to read the full story at The Block.

Track the current price of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and altcoins here.