A stablecoin tethered to the dollar has been launched by Latin American cryptocurrency services firm Ripio, in part to give Argentinians a mechanism to shield their investments from inflation.
According to the business, Ripio users in Argentina, whose annual inflation is 115%, can already buy the UXD stablecoin, also known as the Criptodólar. The stablecoin, which is also available in Brazil, is hosted on LaChain, a layer 1 blockchain with a focus on Latin America that was introduced in June by Ripio in partnership with, among others, SenseiNode, Num Finance, Cedalio, and Buenbit.
In June, Ripio CEO Sebastian Serrano insisted that despite the gloomy cryptocurrency environment, stablecoin usage in Latin America is expanding and becoming more widespread.
In a statement, Serrano said, “We have created Criptodólar: an innovative solution to help individuals combat inflation and protect their assets. The company also plans to incorporate UXD to its Ripio Card. This is in response to the complex economic situation facing Latin America, in particular Argentina.
Since its creation in Argentina, Ripio has expanded to include operations in Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, the U.S., and Spain, where it just received authorization to conduct business as a cryptocurrency exchange. $200 million in transactions are made each month by the company’s 8 million users.