Jul 16, 2026 — Leading stablecoin issuer Tether invested $20 million in Argentine neobank Ualá, taking an equity stake in a platform with more than 11 million customers across Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia.
The investment was part of Ualá’s 3.2 billion post-money valuation. Tether was mentioned in Ualá’s earlier announcement; the $20 million figure was unveiled later. At the headline valuation, the stake is roughly ~0.6% of post-money equity (terms may differ).
Ualá offers accounts, cards, lending, and investments. CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri (per Bloomberg, cited by CoinDesk) said regulations in Argentina and Mexico prevent near-term USDT integration and that Tether joined solely as a financial investor.
Regional context: Tether led a 20 million in Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin.
Funding source: Tether uses excess capital from income on USDT reserves. USDT circulation cited at 1.04 billion profit in Q1.