By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 29th, 2024
The Argentinian crypto company’s license from Spanish authorities allows Ripio to add Spain to a growing list of countries where it operates.
Ripio has obtained a license to operate as a digital asset exchange in Spain. According to an official announcement, the company now has approval to provide crypto exchange services and digital wallets to interested customers.
Ripio CEO Sebastian Serrano said in a tweet that the approval is a result of hard work from the team. With the license, Ripio has joined a few crypto companies officially greenlit to provide crypto services by the Bank of Spain. Other licensed firms include Crypto.com, BVNK, Bitpanda, and Bitstamp.
Ripio records transactions worth $200 million each month, across its 8 million users. In addition to Spain, the company operates in the United States, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, and Brazil.
Ripio Expansion Outside of Spain
Last August, Ripio launched prepaid crypto cards for users in Brazil. The firm partnered with international payments giant Visa (NYSE: V) to launch the card with support for 28 cryptocurrencies. The card also offers users cashback rewards in crypto. At the time, Ripio said it would launch 250,000 cards before the year ran out.
As part of expansion plans, Ripio hopes to obtain an operating license in several Latin American countries before the end of 2023. The company has its sights on Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.
In March, Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libre (NASDAQ: MELI) launched crypto support in collaboration with Ripio. Following the launch, users in Chile can save or trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) from their Mercado Pago wallets. The feature also touts a low entry barrier, as users only need 50 Chilean pesos (about 6 cents) to begin trading. According to Mercado Libre president Osvaldo Gimenez, the company hopes to eliminate crypto access barriers by making app operations as simple as possible. This way, all interested persons, regardless of crypto knowledge or experience, can buy, sell, and save crypto.
In November last year, Ripio announced an expansion to the US. The company began operations after receiving a license from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation to offer users exchange and custodial wallet services. Ripio also announced business-to-business B2B integration plans with companies interested in crypto-powered solutions.
Ripio’s B2B Blockchain
Ripio partnered with Polygon in February to support blockchain adoption in Latin America. The partnership between both companies allows Ripio to onboard its products on the Polygon network as it develops a B2B blockchain.
Serrano said the aim is to improve crypto, blockchain, and Web3 access. According to the CEO:
“We are committed to our users and we seek every day to facilitate access to the crypto world for as many people and institutions as possible. We want to simplify access to Web3, which will undoubtedly be the future.”
Headquartered in Argentina, Ripio raised $50 million in a 2021 funding round led by Digital Currency Group (DCG). Ripio said the funds were primarily for expanding into new countries. In addition to DCG, the funding round also received participation from popular Bitcoin investor Tim Draper and Mercado Libre CEO Marcos Galperin. Others were Globant CEO Martin Migoya and Robinhood investor Amplo.
