Tether Will Be Available in 24,000 SmartPay ATMs Across Brazil Beginning November 3
Tether has announced that starting November 3, 2022, and its USDT stablecoin will become available throughout Brazil in more than 24,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) operated by fintech company SmartPay.
Move Will Bring Financial Inclusion to Millions
In the press release, Tether cited a January 2021 study by Brazilian research organization Instituto Locomotiva, which indicated more than 34 million unbanked people in the South American country.
Tether stated that SmartPay’s adding USDT to its list of ATM products will give millions of these unbanked Brazilians access to digital financial services. Tether’s Chief Technology Officer, Paolo Ardoino, said:
“Adding Tether tokens to ATMs across Brazil provides the opportunity to include more people in the financial system. This will bring major changes to the payments industry and the entire Brazilian financial ecosystem.”
This integration will enable customers to send and receive tether tokens worldwide. SmartPay users will also be able to swap their USDT for Brazil’s fiat currency, the Real, directly from the ATMs.
USDT Becoming More Popular in Brazil
USDT, Bitcoin (BTC), and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly used in everyday transactions in Brazil. The market is undergoing a significant adoption rate, and more businesses are utilizing this chance to provide the general public with direct access to virtual currencies.
Each month, the Brazilian Federal Revenue Authority (RFB) releases a statement regarding the ownership of crypto in the country, in a bid to keep an eye on the evolution and direction of the market. Its most recent data shows that many individuals and institutions have declared ownership of crypto assets, with the most significant volume moving using USDT.
According to the data, 12,000 companies acknowledged holding crypto as part of their portfolio in August. This number has increased by nearly 700 from that recorded in July. The August statement also showed that more than 1.3 million private citizens owned some kind of digital asset.
Additionally, the RFB’s August report revealed that USDT is the most widely used cryptocurrency in the country. In that month alone, more than $1.4 billion was moved using the dollar-pegged stablecoin across nearly 80K operations, with an average of nearly $18K per transaction.
Brazilian Government and Businesses are Capitalizing on the Crypto Frenzy
Given that the Brazilian tax authorities also reported a high number of individual BTC ownership statements in July and August, these figures demonstrate that the country’s crypto sector is expanding at an exponential rate.
Numerous fintech firms, such as SmartPay, Picpay, and Nubank, as well as conventional banks, including Santander, have announced their plans to add crypto services to their portfolios as a result of this.
Plans for a Brazilian central bank digital currency (CBDC) also continue apace. According to Roberto Campos Neto, President of the Brazilian Central Bank, “Real Digital” will start its pilot phase later in the year. The value of the CBDC will be pegged against Brazil’s Reserve Transfer System, and it will have a fixed supply similar to BTC.
The Brazil government is currently looking to capitalize on the cryptocurrency frenzy sweeping the country. Aside from CBDC development, lawmakers introduced a crypto bill earlier in the year to regulate the cryptocurrency market. The bill, which has been in the works for nearly three years, will define various facets of the crypto space, including what qualifies as a virtual asset, a broker or exchange, and which branches of the federal government would have jurisdiction over the sector.
