About Bitso
Bitso was founded in 2014 by Daniel Vogel, Ben Peters, and Pablo Gonzalez, launching as one of the earliest cryptocurrency exchanges focused specifically on the Latin American market, at a time when most major crypto exchanges were concentrated in the U.S., Europe, and Asia and offered limited local currency support or regulatory engagement tailored to Latin American markets, where many countries have historically faced higher inflation, currency volatility, and, in some cases, less developed traditional banking and cross-border payment infrastructure that made crypto and dollar-denominated stablecoins particularly appealing as a store of value and payment tool.
The company built out exchange services allowing individual consumers across Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and other Latin American markets to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies using local currencies, alongside a significant business-to-business product line focused on using stablecoins, cryptocurrency tokens pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar, to facilitate faster and cheaper cross-border payments and remittances than traditional wire transfer or remittance services, an especially important use case given the large volume of remittance payments sent from the U.S. to family members in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. Bitso has worked closely with regulators across the region and obtained relevant licenses in multiple jurisdictions, positioning regulatory compliance as an important differentiator relative to less regulated competitors in a region where financial regulation and enforcement approaches to crypto have varied significantly by country. The company has processed billions of dollars in transaction volume and has raised substantial venture funding from investors including Coatue, Tiger Global, Pantera Capital, and Kaszek Ventures, reaching a valuation exceeding $2 billion and unicorn status, making it one of the most prominent crypto companies focused specifically on the Latin American market.
