Tether takes a $20 million stake in Argentine digital bank Ualá, continuing to expand its footprint in South America.

The world’s largest stablecoin issuer Tether has invested $20 million in Argentine digital bank Ualá, which counts over 11 million customers across Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia, offering services including accounts, cards, loans, and investments. The investment forms part of Ualá’s $197 million funding round announced in March this year, led by Allianz X, Allianz’s venture arm, with a post-money valuation of $3.2 billion. At this valuation, Tether holds an approximately 0.6% stake. Ualá CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri stated that current regulations in Argentina and Mexico have hindered recent plans to integrate USDT, and Tether is participating in the round solely as a financial investor. Tether has been ramping up its footprint in South America recently: in April, it led a $14 million funding round for Argentine payment wallet Belo; it holds around 70% of shares in Adecoagro, an agricultural and energy producer operating in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay; and earlier this month, it put $20 million into Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin. Tether uses excess capital from returns on USDT reserve assets for these investments. Currently, USDT has a circulating supply of $184 billion, with a net profit of $1.04 billion in the first quarter of this year.