🌎 Bitso’s 2024 Report: Bullish or Bearish?

Insights from Bitso’s 2024 Panorama Report

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Frontera EC, Joker & Abraham Cobos
March 21, 2025

👋 Welcome to Frontera, the newsletter showcasing the reality of crypto in Latam. Join industry leaders from the Ethereum Foundation, the Solana Foundation, Binance, Crypto.com, dYdX, and others to discover why Latin America has become one of the most dynamic and promising regions in the crypto world and how you can tap into this market.

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🌐 Our Analysis of Bitso’s 2024 Panorama Report

Bitso is the leading crypto company in Latin America, playing a pivotal role in shaping the region’s financial future. With over 500 employees across 35 countries and access to 60+ cryptocurrencies, it provides over 9 million users access to the digital economy. 

In 2024, Latam saw a 42.5% increase in transaction volume, according to Chainalysis, making it the second-fastest growing region in the world only after sub-Saharan Africa. More people are turning to digital assets as a response to economic instability, embracing them as a way to safeguard their wealth and navigate inflation.

The Panorama Cripto en América Latina 2024 report by Bitso sheds light on how the crypto revolution is unfolding, offering key insights into the region’s accelerated adoption.

Key Takeaways:

  • 12% YoY growth in Bitso’s user base, reaching 9 million retail users.

  • Double-digit growth in Mexico (13%) and Argentina (11%).

  • Countries embracing crypto for their unique economic and financial needs.

  • Stablecoins emerging as a tool for inflation protection, cross-border payments, and remittances.

In this report, we'll break down the findings from Bitso's report, exploring the rapid growth of crypto adoption in Latin America and the outlook in core markets. We’ll also share our own take on whether these trends are bullish, neutral, or bearish for the future of crypto in Latin America.

🗺️ Crypto Adoption in Latam

Latin America’s crypto market saw remarkable growth in 2024, with a 12% increase in Bitso's user adoption, reaching 9 million retail users. This rise was seen in core markets like Argentina (11%), Brazil, (6%), and Mexico (13%), as well as in emerging countries (18%).

The region’s adoption aligns with global trends, with Latin America experiencing a 42.5% YoY increase in on-chain transaction volume, second only to sub-Saharan Africa. According to Chainalysis, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and Argentina are among the top 20 countries globally for grassroots crypto adoption. Mexico saw a 50+% increase in YoY growth in terms of value received, second to only Venezuela.

The progress is fueled by practical needs: high inflation, currency instability, and limited access to traditional financial services have driven people to view crypto as a reliable store of value and transfer of wealth. 

Many users convert a portion of their salaries to crypto as soon as they’re paid, a pattern supported by the correlation between the most active trading days—typically the 4th and 5th of the month—just after payday, highlighting crypto’s role as a hedge against devaluing local currencies.

The Panorama report revealed a shift in investment preferences in 2024: while Bitcoin holdings remained significant, there was a surge in interest toward altcoins, stablecoins, and memecoins.

  • Bitcoin holdings dropped from 57% in 2023 to 49% in 2024 as altcoins gained ground due to favorable macroeconomic conditions.

  • Stablecoins represented 39% of buys, a 30% increase from the previous year, as people sought refuge from local currency devaluations.

  • Three memecoins broke into the top 10 assets bought in the region (PEPE, DOGE, and SHIB), due to the Pump.fun craze, suggesting a higher risk appetite.

  • On the institutional side, in Brazil, the volume of crypto transactions over $1 million jumped 29% between Q3 and Q4 2023, and another 48% by early 2024. 

Both retail and institutional behavior in Latin America converged on a key point: crypto is being treated as a mainstream asset class.

📍 A Closer Look at the Core Markets

The Panorama Cripto report highlights how crypto adoption varies across Latin America’s core markets, each driven by their unique economic and financial factors:

🇦🇷 Argentina

Bitso’s Argentine user base grew by 11% in 2024, with stablecoins like USDT (50%) and USDC (22%) dominating purchases. High inflation and currency instability continue to drive crypto adoption as a store of value, reflecting how Argentines use stablecoins to protect savings, in line with the common practice of converting salaries to stable assets at the start of the month. 

🇧🇷 Brazil

Brazil’s market grew by 6% in 2024, with Bitcoin making up 22% of purchases and stablecoins at 26%. The local currency devaluation led Brazilians to stablecoins as a safer alternative, while meme coins like PEPE saw significant interest, representing 12% of trading volume.

🇲🇽 Mexico

Mexico’s user base grew by 13%, reaching 4.4 million users, with Bitcoin leading (25% of purchases) but stablecoins growing to 34%. With $64 billion in annual remittances, Bitso processes up to 10% of the U.S.-Mexico corridor using crypto, demonstrating the sector’s key role in cross-border payments.

🇨🇴 Colombia

Colombia’s crypto market grew by 6% in 2024, with stablecoins making up 48% of purchases, far ahead of Bitcoin at 16%. The devaluation of their local currency played a role, as stablecoins became an attractive option for the community to dollarize, given the restrictions on holding dollar accounts in banks, with  minimum amounts starting at $5000.

🪙 Stablecoins: The Cornerstone of Latam

In 2024, stablecoins saw explosive growth. Chainalysis data shows a 207.7% annual increase in stablecoin transaction value from 2023 to 2024, far outpacing growth in usage of Bitcoin or Ethereum.

The appeal is clear: stablecoins offer the benefits of crypto (speed, accessibility, low fees) without the notorious volatility, since they maintain a stable value against the U.S. dollar. This makes them ideal for everyday transactions, savings, and especially remittances—a critical use case in Latam, which received over $160 billion in remittances in 2023, with Mexico alone accounting for $64 billion. As of now, Bitso processes roughly 10% of the U.S.-Mexico remittances via crypto.

USDT and USDC dominate, making up 72% of crypto purchases in Argentina, 48% in Colombia, 34% in Mexico, 26% in Brazil, and 39% on average in the region.

The stablecoin market shows no signs of slowing, with its global market capitalization hitting a new all-time high of $229.6 billion just this week.

🐂 Bullish or Bearish?

Latin America is in the midst of a crypto revolution and the momentum is undeniable. As adoption surges, Bitso’s 2024 Panorama Report gives us reasons to be excited, cautious, and in some cases, concerned.

Bullish

  • Institutional involvement in remittances: The growing role of crypto in cross-border transactions, especially remittances with Bitso processing 10% of the U.S.-Mexico corridor, signals a major shift towards mainstream adoption of the much needed solution to a $64.7B USD problem.

  • Stablecoins for international payments: The rise in stablecoin purchases, which now accounts for 39% of total buys in the region, shows their dominance in cross-border transactions. These assets are becoming a go-to solution for international payments, providing a stable, cost-effective alternative in countries plagued by inflation and currency volatility.

Neutral

  • User habits and behavior: The trend of converting salaries to crypto remains consistent, indicating stability. However, while positive, it's more about adapting to current economic conditions rather than a major driver of growth for the platform. People will increasingly need stablecoins and the market is still ripe open for the taking.

Bearish

  • Retail growth in Mexico: Despite strong numbers, Bitso’s slower growth in Mexican retail users (13%) compared to the 50% increase in market inflows shows Bitso is facing friction to deepen retail adoption and engagement, with a growing market share elsewhere.

  • Limited trading options: 60+ trading pairs may seem like a lot, but it's not. Bitcoin holdings decreased from 57% in 2023 to 49% in 2024, as risk appetite grew and retail users wanted to try their luck in the altcoin and memecoin casino. With only 7 memecoins listed, a faster and more optimized listing process is needed to satisfy the growing demand and degeneracy of their users.

The stage is set for a future in which crypto and stablecoins further cement themselves as key components of Latin Americans’ financial systems; it now becomes a tale of fighting for users, volume, and PMF, as the big players face each other in the arena.

📰 Latam Crypto News 📰

🇧🇷 Brazil

BRL1, Brazil’s first stablecoin backed by government bonds, debuts with an initial $10 million issuance in 2025. Aimed at enhancing liquidity and security in crypto transactions, it offers a 1:1 peg to the Brazilian real, supporting seamless transfers within the local and global markets.

Mercado Bitcoin and Polygon Labs will tokenize over $200M in real-world assets, enhancing digital investment accessibility and efficiency in Latin America with blockchain technology.

Brazil’s CVM accused Mercado Bitcoin of acting as an unauthorized intermediary for securities, potentially facing daily fines of $100,000 if non-compliant.

🇦🇷 Argentina

FTX users in Argentina have started receiving refunds for amounts under $50,000, more than two years after the exchange’s collapse. The process began in February, with larger reimbursements expected by May 30.

Argentina has requested the international arrest of Hayden Davis, as the LIBRA scandal unfolds. Allegations suggest he acted with government backing, causing significant investor losses, while still holding the $100M.

Argentina’s CNV introduces new regulations for PSAVs, focusing on registration, custody, cybersecurity, and anti-money laundering measures to ensure transparency, stability, and security in the crypto market.

🇲🇽 Mexico

MXNe, by Etherfuse, is outperforming Tether’s MXNt and Bitso’s MXNB on AerodromeFi, with over 150 times their trading volume.

Helium, in partnership with Movistar, installs 100 new mobile hotspots in 18 Mexican cities. The network, now with 735 hotspots, aims to provide affordable, decentralized connectivity with crypto rewards.

🇧🇴 Bolivia

Bolivia will use cryptocurrencies to import fuel under Supreme Decree 5348. YPFB is now allowed  to convert bolivianos to digital assets, streamlining payments while ensuring a more stable.

👤 Guest Episode 👤

In this week’s guest episode, we dive into Argentina’s crypto scene with Santi from Crecimiento, discussing adoption, innovation, startups, and more importantly, how to transform Argentina's economy through crypto.

Watch the full episode here 👇