TheBlock
Brazil-based stablecoin payments infrastructure firm Trace Finance has closed a $32 million Series A led by CoinFund, with Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Capital, Paxos, Chainlink Labs and HOF Capital participating. Angel investors included Circle co-founder Sean Neville, Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, Mesh CEO Bam Azizi, and Itaú Unibanco partner Ricardo Villela Marino. CoinFund partner Einar Braathen took a board seat as part of the deal. CEO Bernardo Brites said the round — first opened late last summer and closed in December — values Trace at roughly 10x its 2022 seed, when the company raised $4.3 million. The headcount has nearly doubled in 2026, from 25 to 48.
Why it matters
Trace sits inside a stablecoin-infrastructure category that has quietly become the most expensive corner of crypto M&A this cycle. Stripe acquired Bridge for about $1.1 billion last year, and Mastercard has agreed to buy BVNK for up to $1.8 billion — both deals pricing regulated rail and compliance wrappers at venture-scale multiples. The GENIUS Act, signed in July, gave U.S. issuers a federal framework, and capital has rotated downstream toward the firms that sit between the stablecoin and the local bank account. Trace has processed more than $10 billion in institutional cross-border volume to date and counts itself as the primary infrastructure provider for the top four global payment processors operating in Latin America, including dLocal.
Market impact
Brites framed the product thesis bluntly: "Stablecoins alone do not solve cross-border payments. Stablecoins plus regulated local bank infrastructure do." Trace operates under U.S. and Brazilian licenses, plus partner-bank arrangements in Mexico, Colombia, Europe and Asia, and plans to add Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. Brazil's recent classification of cross-border virtual asset flows as foreign-exchange operations funnels institutional volume toward regulated bank-grade providers — exactly the layer Trace is selling.
Frequently asked questions
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What does Trace Finance do?
Trace Finance is a Brazil-based stablecoin payments infrastructure firm that combines local banking rails, FX, compliance, and stablecoin settlement for cross-border institutional flows. It operates under U.S. and Brazilian licenses and through partner banks in Mexico, Colombia, Europe and Asia.
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Who led Trace Finance's $32M Series A?
CoinFund led the round, with Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Capital, Paxos, Chainlink Labs and HOF Capital participating. Angel investors included Circle co-founder Sean Neville, Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, Mesh CEO Bam Azizi, and Itaú Unibanco partner Ricardo Villela Marino.
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How much has Trace Finance processed in volume?
Trace says it has processed more than $10 billion in institutional cross-border volume to date, and is the main infrastructure provider for the top four global payment providers operating in Latin America, including dLocal.
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Why is stablecoin infrastructure attracting so much VC money right now?
Stripe acquired stablecoin platform Bridge for about $1.1 billion last year, and Mastercard has agreed to buy BVNK for up to $1.8 billion. The deals price regulated rail and compliance wrappers — the layer between stablecoins and traditional bank accounts — at venture-scale multiples, drawing fresh capital into the…
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Where does Trace Finance plan to expand next?
CEO Bernardo Brites said Trace will expand across Mexico, Colombia and Argentina before adding Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. The company also plans to pursue additional licenses in Singapore, the U.S. and APAC.
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