Overview
- Tether disclosed Thursday that it invested $20 million in Argentine neobank Ualá as part of a $197 million funding round led by Allianz X.
- The round values Ualá at about $3.2 billion and the reported $20 million represents a small minority stake of roughly 0.6% of post‑money equity.
- Ualá CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri said regulatory rules in Argentina and Mexico prevent near‑term USDT integration, so Tether joined only as a financial investor.
- The investment is one of several Tether has made across Latin America, including stakes in Belo, Mercado Bitcoin, and Adecoagro, funded from profits tied to USDT reserve operations.
- By building a network of minority stakes and running enterprise pilots for payroll and treasury payments, Tether is creating optional paths to wider stablecoin use if local rules change.