Blockchain.com and KuCoin are both rolling out services that connect digital assets to local payment infrastructure in emerging markets, signaling growing institutional comfort with stablecoin-based settlement.
Blockchain.com launched a Brazil-focused payments platform for institutional clients using USDC and USDT for cross-border treasury operations, supplier payments, and payroll. The company says it’s a faster, cheaper alternative to traditional international wire transfers.
KuCoin expanded its payment network across Mexico, Bangladesh, and Zambia, integrating with Mexico’s SPEI banking system, Bangladesh’s bKash and Nagad mobile platforms, and MTN and Airtel mobile-money networks in Zambia. Unlike Blockchain.com’s institutional focus, KuCoin is targeting consumer-facing remittance and peer-to-peer payment flows.
The moves reflect broader trends. A recent Bitso report found stablecoin transaction volume among institutional clients grew 81% year-on-year in Latin America during the first half of 2026. Financial institutions accounted for over 60% of new business clients. Chainalysis previously reported that stablecoins are frequently used for multi-million-dollar trade flows between Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Trace Finance recently raised $32 million to expand cross-border settlement across Latin America, the US, and Asia-Pacific, having already processed over $10 billion in volume. Regulatory questions remain, however — Brazil’s central bank prohibited virtual assets in certain regulated cross-border payment services in May.
