CoinDesk
Latin American telecom operator VIVA is moving part of its financial plumbing onchain through Iris, a new network built on a dedicated Avalanche Layer 1. VIVA, which has operated in Bolivia for more than 25 years and recently expanded into Mexico, is the first carrier live on Iris. It uses USDi, a dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Agora, to settle transactions and hold eligible operating reserves in dollars instead of local currency.
Iris was founded by former IBM Blockchain Ventures partner Jules Miller, who describes it as "the financial network for telecom operators." Carriers plug their existing identity, billing and distribution systems into the network and settle in U.S. dollars without replacing core infrastructure. Iris debuts with a $43 million commitment from Balesia Group, a family office with telecom businesses across the Americas.
Why it matters
The bet is that carriers can capture more of the economics from infrastructure they have spent decades building. Between 2012 and 2025, global mobile data traffic grew more than 50% annually while operator service revenue rose less than 1% per year, per McKinsey figures cited by Iris. Telecoms bring what financial apps spend heavily to acquire: customers, verified identities and distribution.
In emerging markets the advantage is sharper. "In the U.S. the operator is like one rail among many," said Ava Labs Chief Business Officer John Nahas, but in Bolivia "the mobile carrier is often the rail that people do everything on." Iris plans expansion across Latin America, potentially Africa and Asia.
Market impact
VIVA offers the first real test. Nahas said a super-app product used by VIVA helped reduce prepaid customer churn by 33% while lifting lifetime value by 35%. The deployment follows other corporate adoption of Avalanche, including POSCO moving trade receivables onchain and Hyundai running a stablecoin-based internal remittance system using USD and USDT. Iris is now in talks with additional operators worldwide.
Frequently asked questions
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What is Iris and how does it relate to Avalanche?
Iris is a financial network for telecom operators that runs on a dedicated Avalanche Layer 1, giving it control over settlement, operating and compliance requirements while using the USDi stablecoin as its settlement asset.
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How is VIVA using stablecoins in its telecom business?
VIVA uses USDi, a dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Agora, to settle transactions and hold eligible operating reserves in U.S. dollars rather than local currency, which matters in markets with volatile currencies.
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Who is behind the Iris network?
Iris was founded by Jules Miller, a former partner at IBM Blockchain Ventures, and debuts with a $43 million commitment from Balesia Group, a family office with telecom businesses across the Americas.
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What results has VIVA seen from its digital services push?
According to Ava Labs' John Nahas, a super-app product used by VIVA reduced churn among prepaid mobile customers by 33% while increasing their lifetime value by 35%.
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Which other companies have moved operations onto Avalanche?
South Korean trading giant POSCO brought trade receivables onto Avalanche, and automaker Hyundai moved an internal remittance system using U.S. dollar stablecoins and USDT.
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