Latin America’s stablecoin payment infrastructure may face risks due to its dependency on a small number of wholesale liquidity providers, according to a new report by Verda Ventures and Varys Capital, two investment firms focused on the digital asset sector.
Key liquidity risks
Researchers compiled data from Verda’s Stablescape database, identifying 494 companies in the region’s stablecoin space. Despite this broad ecosystem, only 16 entities specialize in supplying large-scale stablecoin-to-fiat liquidity, corporate treasury, and credit services.
Amit Chu, partner at Verda Ventures, stated that this concentration introduces systemic fragility. He noted that most firms do not shoulder currency risk themselves, but instead rely on a limited set of primary desks or exchanges to handle conversions from stablecoins to local currencies.
“There are many sellers of liquidity and very few specialists. What we can’t see from public data is how many of them warehouse the currency risk themselves and how many pass it to the same few desks and exchanges. Our view is that it’s the second, and that’s the fragility the report is pointing at,” Chu commented. If a key provider faces banking problems, customers might find it difficult or costly to cash out stablecoins into local money.
“The problem would be at the exits. Spreads would widen, cash-outs to local bank accounts would slow or pause, and funds in transit with the failed desk could be stuck,” Chu explained.
Stablecoins’ growing presence in Latin America
Stablecoins have become increasingly prominent in Latin America’s crypto ecosystem. Chainalysis reported that by June 2026, stablecoins represented 32.1% of cross-border crypto transactions, 22.1% of domestic peer-to-peer activity, and 17.6% of personal wallet assets in the region. This growth highlights the importance of reliable liquidity infrastructure as more users and businesses depend on stablecoin transactions for payments and cross-border activity.
Despite their rapid adoption, the report acknowledged that measuring true market concentration remains difficult. The Stablescape database does not track transaction volumes or specific market shares. Some exchanges and payment platforms, classified differently in the database, also provide liquidity but may ultimately depend on the same network of core providers for settlement.
Mini dictionary: Stablescape is a proprietary database maintained by Verda Ventures tracking stablecoin-related companies and service providers in emerging markets, especially Latin America, to provide insights into payment networks and liquidity structures.
Calls for greater redundancy and clearer regulation
Chu emphasized that introducing licensing frameworks is key to easing liquidity concentration. He argued that clear regulations would enable banks to better serve liquidity providers, decreasing systemic risk by encouraging more participants to enter the market. Local-currency stablecoins and onchain settlement mechanisms could also broaden participation by market makers, with global trading firms now quoting Latin American currency pairs more frequently.
Chu warned against assuming that a small number of specialists necessarily indicates danger, pointing to traditional foreign exchange markets where few primary dealers manage the bulk of transactions. The crucial issue, Chu said, is ensuring adequate redundancy and capital reserves to withstand shocks.
“Each major currency should have several independent, well-capitalized desks with separate banking relationships, and each wallet should be able to route between multiple players,” Chu said.
Sector outlook and opportunities
The report concluded that Latin America represents a significant growth opportunity for stablecoin and crypto-related businesses, especially those focusing on cross-border payments. Fragmented banking systems and expensive money transfers in the region create strong demand for efficient digital payment solutions, as both individuals and companies seek easier ways to move funds internationally.
| Metric | Stablecoins Share (June 2026) |
|---|---|
| Cross-border crypto value | 32.1% |
| Domestic P2P activity | 22.1% |
| Personal wallet balances | 17.6% |
As global and regional players develop new solutions, the sector is expected to become more diversified and resilient to shocks in the underlying liquidity network.
