Trace Finance, a stablecoin payments infrastructure firm, has successfully raised $32 million in a Series A funding round to expand its platform across Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. According to reports from The Block, the round was led by CoinFund with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Capital, Paxos, Chainlink Labs, HOF Capital and other investors. The funding round, which began in late summer 2023 and closed in December, also included angel investors such as Circle co-founder Sean Neville, Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, and Itaú Unibanco partner and vice chairman Ricardo Villela Marino.
As reported by The Block, Trace Finance's valuation has grown approximately 10x since its 2022 seed round when it raised $4.3 million. CEO Bernardo Brites confirmed this growth while declining to disclose the current valuation figure. The company plans to pursue additional licenses in Singapore, the U.S. and APAC regions as part of its expansion strategy. Trace Finance currently operates under licenses in the U.S. and Brazil, as well as through partner banks in Mexico, Colombia, Europe and Asia. The company's expansion strategy includes operations in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina before moving into Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
According to The Block, Trace Finance has processed more than $10 billion in institutional cross-border volume to date and serves as the main infrastructure provider for the top four global payment providers operating in Latin America, including dLocal. The company's infrastructure combines local banking rails, foreign exchange, compliance, and stablecoin settlement. Brazil recently classified cross-border virtual asset payment flows as foreign exchange operations, a move that Trace Finance says will push institutional activity toward regulated bank-grade infrastructure providers. CEO Bernardo Brites emphasized that "Stablecoins alone do not solve cross-border payments. Stablecoins plus regulated local bank infrastructure do."
As reported by The Block, Trace Finance has grown its headcount from 25 employees at the start of 2024 to 48 employees currently. The company is developing new settlement products though specific details were not disclosed. The funding comes amid growing investment activity in stablecoin infrastructure, particularly following the passage of the U.S. stablecoin legislation GENIUS Act in July 2023 and rising institutional adoption. Recent major deals include Stripe's acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure platform Bridge for approximately $1.1 billion and Mastercard's agreement to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion subject to approvals.
