Trace Finance, a financial infrastructure company that connects banking networks between the US and Brazil with stablecoin settlement systems, has raised $32 million in a Series A funding round led by CoinFund. Other participants included Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Capital, and several crypto-focused investors.
Regulatory change in Brazil drives momentum
The investment comes at a time when Brazil has reclassified cross-border crypto transfers as currency operations. This regulatory shift is prompting institutional transaction volumes to move away from unregulated crypto platforms toward intermediaries that are licensed and operate under banking standards—a space in which Trace Finance is strategically positioned.
Based in New York, Trace Finance reports that it has already facilitated nearly $10 billion in cross-border transaction volume. The company has become a key settlement partner for several major global payments firms in Latin America, including Uruguay-based payments company dLocal.
In financial terms, “settlement” refers to the final completion of transactions between parties and the official transfer of funds. With stablecoin settlement, this process is carried out using digital assets typically pegged to the US dollar, streamlining international value transfers.
Company sets sights on international growth
Trace Finance co-founder and CEO Bernardo Brites explained that the company’s strategy centers on combining digital assets with traditional banking compliance processes. Brites sees stablecoins not as replacements for regulated financial infrastructure, but as an added layer that strengthens the existing system.
Bernardo Brites emphasized that stablecoins alone are not sufficient for cross-border payments. The real solution, he explained, lies in the interoperability of stablecoins with regulated local banking infrastructure. Brites added that the new funding aims to deepen the banking, payments, and compliance platforms used by global fintechs, exchanges, international banks, and corporate clients.
According to Brites, the new capital will allow Trace Finance to expand beyond its initial US-Brazil corridor. The company now intends to broaden its reach throughout Latin America, as well as target additional markets in the US and Asia-Pacific regions.
Sector leaders join investor roster
In addition to institutional investors, the funding round included strategic backers from across the crypto industry, such as Chainlink Labs. Individual supporters included Sean Neville, co-founder of Circle; Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs; and Ricardo Villela Marino, vice-chairman of Itaú Unibanco, Latin America’s largest bank.
CoinFund partner Einar Braathen noted that, in the next stage of global money movement, companies able to connect on-chain settlement with trusted local banking systems will stand out. Highlighting Brazil as one of the world’s largest and most operationally complex payments markets, Braathen said Trace Finance is building the regulated infrastructure that multinational companies rely on to scale internationally.
The company’s previous fundraising round was a seed investment led by HOF Capital in 2022. Trace Finance says that it is now developing additional settlement products to bolster its banking connections in Brazil and surrounding markets.
