A Stablecoin for Every Latin American Currency | Sebastian Serrano, Ripio

What we talked about.

In this episode of the Sunny Ray Show, host Sunny Ray talks with Sebastian Serrano of Ripio about why every Latin American currency could have its own stablecoin. Serrano explains how Ripio began in 2013 as a Bitcoin payments and wallet business in Argentina and later pivoted into B2B crypto infrastructure, now reaching over 35 million users across B2B2C channels. He recounts discovering Bitcoin in 2012 while trying to pay developers at his earlier web and mobile company, and how Argentina's inflation made the case for Bitcoin easy to explain. The conversation then turns to local stablecoins, including the one Ripio issues for Argentina, and the use cases Serrano sees: borrowing local currency against dollar collateral in DeFi, onchain foreign exchange between regional currencies, local prediction markets, and free one to one ramps that spare new users from spreads and fees. He argues that tokenization is moving from the most liquid assets toward less liquid ones, and that tokenized local currencies are the next step toward reaching the next billion crypto users. The episode closes with Sunny proposing a recurring series.

Why emerging markets need local stablecoins, and how Ripio is building them for Latin America's currencies.

The questions, and the answers.

What is Ripio, and what are you most excited about right now?

We started Ripio in 2013 with the first Bitcoin wallet in Argentina, then expanded across Latin America. We began as a retail wallet and exchange and pivoted into B2B, offering crypto as a service. Across B2B2C we have reached over 35 million users. For the last year we have focused on local stablecoins, which is the most exciting thing we are doing.

What did your earlier web and mobile company teach you, and how did you find Bitcoin?

Running a dev shop taught us how to work with clients and run projects together, which later helped us sell crypto as a service. I found Bitcoin because paying my developers in Argentina from San Francisco was hard. At the end of 2012 I bought Bitcoin in the US, sent it to Argentina and sold it on forums.

How did you explain Bitcoin in Argentina in 2013?

Argentina has a lot of inflation, so explaining scarcity made it easier. The harder questions were about security and whether it would last. Receiving money from abroad was much cheaper, so early customers like hotels and software factories used it for payments. Speculation took over in later years, but the first few years were about payments.

Why did you shift from a consumer wallet to infrastructure for banks and platforms?

Around 2021 we bet crypto would be integrated into every financial app. Competing in retail meant matching full financial services, and that was not our DNA. We were strong technically, with smart contracts and blockchain. So we became an infrastructure provider. Almost every stockbroker offering crypto in Argentina does it with us, and that path put us in position to issue local stablecoins.

Why do local stablecoins matter, and what is the DeFi use case?

DeFi is all dollar denominated: you post Bitcoin or ETH and borrow USDC. In emerging markets people save in dollars but live in local currency. They should post tokenized dollars as collateral and borrow local currency, like our Argentine stablecoin, WARS. Localizing anything onchain requires a local currency representation, which we do for each country.

What other use cases do local stablecoins unlock?

Onchain FX is one: pools between local representations like the Brazilian and Argentine stablecoins avoid routing through the US, and are faster and cheaper. Local prediction markets are another, since vaults should hold the local currency rather than force users to trade FX. Ramping is a third: we can offer free one to one onboarding, so a thousand reais becomes a thousand onchain.

Where does tokenization go from here?

Tokenization is moving from the most liquid assets to the less liquid. The US dollar came first, and now equities, bonds and treasuries are growing. The next step to reach the next billion people is tokenized local currencies. There are roughly 20 to 30 trillion dollars of USD money supply, versus about 100 trillion in non-USD currencies, so the opportunity is even larger.

How did you build trust and inroads with large companies?

It was a combination of things. We built a name in the region, which makes outreach easier. We also had to build certifications we did not have, like SOC 2 Type 2 and CCSS level three, plus many audits, because public companies require them. Crypto is still perceived as high risk, so I stay heavily involved in business development.