Crypto services startup Ripio raises $50 million in Series B funding round

Latin America-based crypto services firm Ripio has raised $50 million in a new Series B funding round.

Digital Currency Group (DCG) led the funding round, and additional investors include venture capital firm Amplo, Draper Ventures and Boost VC among others. MercadoLibre CEO Marcos Galperin and Globant CEO Martin Migoya also participated as individual investors. The company confirmed the funding round, which was first reported by CoinDesk.

Ripio offers various services such as a wallet and crypto exchange. The company intends to use the funds to further develop its products and teams as well as boost international expansion, according to chief brand officer Juan José Mendez. 

Ripio, which was founded in Argentina and bought Brazil’s second-biggest crypto exchange in January, has been planning to expand into other key markets in the region for some time. While the pandemic put a damper on that growth to some extent, Ripio appears to be close to entering into some new countries. Today, the company counts two million users across Argentina and Brazil.

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“In Colombia, we just closed a key acquisition to strongly enter the market, and we have already formed a strategic team to start operating very soon,” Mendez said. In Mexico and Uruguay we find ourselves in a very similar situation,” he said.

In a LinkedIn update, Ripio mentioned Spain as a country on its roadmap. Mendez said Spain is a strategic base for Ripio due to its commercial and cultural ties with Latin America, but clarified that it does not currently have plans to expand to the rest of Europe.

Ripio has been strategically investing in digital assets with its own funds for many years, Mendez added.

“A new round of investment involves a series of strategic decisions, especially within the context of such a hot market, Mendez said. “Several crypto companies raised funds this year, but the difference is that some need new capital to survive and some do not,” he said, underscoring that Ripio falls into the latter category.

 

About Author

Kristin Majcher is a senior correspondent at The Block, based in Colombia. She covers the Latin America market. Before joining, she worked as a freelancer with bylines in Fortune, Condé Nast Traveler and MIT Technology Review among other publications.