| |

Trace Finance (tracefinance.com): Regulated Payments & Stablecoin Infrastructure Powering Fast, Compliant Cross-Border Flows in Latin America | $32M Series A

Moving money across borders — especially into and out of Latin America — has traditionally been slow, expensive, and fragmented. Companies often face high fees, long settlement times, complex compliance requirements, and the need to set up local entities just to access basic banking rails. The rise of stablecoins has created new opportunities for faster settlement, but most solutions still lack the regulatory clarity and seamless integration that enterprises need.

Trace Finance is building the compliant infrastructure layer that bridges traditional payments and stablecoins for the LatAm market.

As a company that just closed a $32M Series A (bringing total funding to over $36M), Trace is rapidly scaling as critical infrastructure for fintechs, exchanges, and global businesses operating in one of the world’s highest-growth payment corridors.

Data

Funding Stage: $32M Series A (led by CoinFund, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Crypto, Valor Capital, Paxos, Chainlink Labs, and others). Earlier $4.3M seed round in 2022 led by HOF Capital with Circle Ventures and others. Total raised exceeds $36M.

Launch / Founding Date: Founded in 2020/2021. Significant scaling momentum in 2025–2026 with the recent Series A.

Key Leadership:

  • Bernardo Brites, CEO & Co-Founder — Leads the vision for cross-border and stablecoin infrastructure starting with Brazil/LatAm.
  • Other co-founders include Rafael Luz and Leone Parise.

The founding team has prior experience scaling businesses at Binance, Trust Wallet, and Decred. Team size is approximately 48 employees, primarily based in São Paulo, Brazil, with a growing international presence.

Core Tech Stack / Approach: A regulated API platform offering multi-currency accounts (BRL, USD, EUR) with real-time balances, fast stablecoin on/off-ramps (BRL ↔ USDC in under a minute via PIX), and 24/7 cross-border payments supporting local rails (PIX, SPEI, ACH, SEPA). Key features include rate locking, webhooks, automated KYC/transaction monitoring, full audit trails, and deep liquidity routing. The system is designed for compliance with global AML/CFT standards while enabling instant settlement without requiring customers to establish local entities in many cases. It emphasizes bank-grade reliability (99.9% uptime) and seamless integration for Payment Facilitators, crypto companies, and global businesses.

Editorial

Plain English Pitch (2 sentences):
Trace Finance gives companies a single, compliant API to move money across borders in Latin America — converting BRL to stablecoins in under a minute, holding multi-currency accounts, and settling payments 24/7. It removes the friction of traditional cross-border banking while adding the speed and efficiency of stablecoins, all with built-in regulatory compliance.

ICP & Use Cases:
Primary buyers are fintechs, crypto exchanges, Payment Service Providers (PSPs), global businesses, and Web3 companies that need to move money into or out of Brazil and Latin America efficiently. These organizations often deal with high volumes of cross-border transactions and want faster settlement, better FX rates, and easier stablecoin integration without building complex local infrastructure.

The core problem solved is the inefficiency, cost, and compliance burden of traditional cross-border payments and banking in LatAm. Companies frequently face delays, high fees, and operational complexity when trying to connect fiat and digital asset flows.

Key use cases include stablecoin on/off-ramps for BRL, multi-currency treasury management, instant cross-border payouts and collections, enabling global platforms to serve LatAm users compliantly, and providing infrastructure for crypto businesses expanding into traditional finance rails.

Hiring Patterns:
Following the $32M Series A, Trace is actively scaling its team. Expect focused hiring in engineering (payments infrastructure, integrations, compliance tech), compliance and risk, product, and business development/sales roles to support international expansion and increased transaction volume.

Buying Signals:

  • Major $32M Series A led by CoinFund with participation from top crypto and fintech investors.
  • Strong processed volume ($10B+ historically, with continued growth).
  • Clear product-market fit with exchanges, fintechs, and global businesses.
  • Regulated, audited infrastructure with bank-grade compliance features.
  • Strategic positioning at the intersection of traditional payments and stablecoins in a high-growth region.

These are powerful commercial and credibility signals in the fintech infrastructure space.

Proprietary Insights

Proprietary Score — LatAm Stablecoin & Cross-Border Infrastructure Index:
Trace Finance scores very highly on this custom metric. Key drivers include significant processed volume, a timely focus on the convergence of stablecoins and traditional payments in Latin America, strong investor validation from both crypto-native and traditional fintech funds, and a regulated, enterprise-ready product that addresses real operational pain points. As stablecoin adoption accelerates globally and LatAm remains a critical growth corridor, infrastructure players that combine speed, compliance, and seamless fiat-crypto connectivity are well-positioned.

Competitor Matrix (Editorial Comparison):

DimensionTrace Finance (LatAm-Focused Stablecoin + Payments Infrastructure)Traditional Cross-Border Providers (Wise, dLocal, etc.)Pure Crypto On/Off-RampsBuilding In-House SolutionsGlobal Stablecoin Issuers
Core StrengthCompliant, fast BRL-stablecoin rails + multi-currency accountsBroad cross-border coverageSimple crypto conversionFull controlIssuance & basic rails
LatAm / Brazil DepthVery High (PIX, local expertise, no local entity needed in many cases)HighVariableHigh (but expensive)Low to Medium
Stablecoin IntegrationVery High (sub-minute BRL ↔ USDC)Low to MediumHighVariableHigh
Compliance & AuditabilityVery High (built-in KYC, monitoring, audit trails)HighVariableHigh (but resource-heavy)High
Current Stage$32M Series A, scalingMatureFragmentedCustomMature
Best ForFintechs/exchanges needing fast, compliant LatAm connectivityGeneral cross-border needsCrypto-focused usersVery large organizationsIssuers & basic settlement

Founder & Company Vision Highlights:
The Trace Finance team is focused on removing barriers between traditional finance and digital assets by shipping regulated infrastructure that already works at scale. Their vision centers on enabling companies to move money across borders seamlessly — combining the speed and efficiency of stablecoins with the compliance and reliability enterprises require, starting with Brazil and expanding across high-growth corridors globally.

Deeper proprietary perspectives on the product roadmap, specific corridor expansion plans, integration depth with major platforms, and long-term vision for LatAm financial infrastructure are best gathered through direct conversations with the founding team.

Why This Matters in 2026

Latin America remains one of the most dynamic regions for fintech and crypto adoption, with Brazil leading in innovation around instant payments (PIX) and stablecoin usage. As more companies — from crypto exchanges to global platforms — need to move money in and out of the region efficiently, the demand for compliant, fast, and integrated infrastructure that bridges fiat and digital assets continues to grow. Trace Finance is building foundational rails that address this need at scale.

Similar Posts

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted