Stablecoins eye $112B LATAM remittance outside US-Mexico, Bybit says

Bybit’s chief marketing officer, Claudia Wang, argues that the Latin American remittance opportunity extends far beyond the well-trodden US-to-Mexico corridor. In a recent post, she highlighted growing corridors within the region and emphasized that the “hot” routes are often not the ones fintechs have optimized for, urging a country-specific approach to capture the full LATAM remittance potential.

Key takeaways

• The non-US-to-Mexico remittance market in LATAM is about $112 billion, with corridors such as Venezuela-to-Colombia, Argentina-to-Bolivia, and Spain-to-Ecuador presenting notable growth.
• Overall remittances in the US-to-Mexico corridor fell to $61.8 billion in 2025, a 4.5% decline, while US-to-Central America flows showed stronger growth-year signals.
• US immigration policy is shaping behavior: Central American migrants are sending more money home—faster and in larger amounts—to hedge deportation risk, whereas the Mexican diaspora appears more established, dampening panic-send patterns.
• Fintechs must build country-specific stacks—different licenses, rails, stablecoins, and go-to-market models—rather than treating LATAM as a single market.
• In LATAM, the “killer app” may be holding stablecoins rather than simply moving value; users want to know the money lands and can be held as a store of value, not just spent immediately.

Expanding corridors reshape the Latin American remittance landscape

Wang’s assessment centers on a broader LATAM reality: large remittance corridors lie outside the US-to-Mexico frame, yet they remain under-served by traditional rails and even some crypto-enabled platforms. The non-US remittance market in LATAM is reported to be around $112 billion, a figure that underscores a wide field for cross-border financial flows beyond the familiar corridor.

Meanwhile, the region’s interior routes are also drawing attention. In 2025, remittance activity through the US-to-Central America corridor showed strong momentum, with Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala recording year-over-year increases of 19%, 18%, and 15%, respectively. By contrast, the US-to-Mexico corridor—historically the largest—contracted by about 4.5%, landing at roughly $61.8 billion for the year.

Wang attributes the divergence in behavior to shifts in US immigration policy. Central American migrants have been sending more money home—more frequently and in larger sums—partly as a hedge against deportation risk. Meanwhile, Mexico’s diaspora is comparatively more established and documented, reducing the urgency to “panic-send” funds home.

These dynamics imply that the next wave of remittance adoption in LATAM could hinge on corridors that previously received less attention from fintechs and crypto platforms. The region’s geographies—Venezuela to Colombia, Argentina to Bolivia, and Spain to Ecuador among them—are cited as examples where demand could grow rapidly if services align with local realities and regulatory requirements.

In terms of scale, the corridor between the United States and the rest of Latin America remains sizeable, but the opportunity set is widening as corridors within the region—often overlooked—develop their own momentum and infrastructure needs.

The race to serve LATAM: country-specific rails and stablecoins

Wang argues that LATAM’s remittance winners will be those who tailor solutions to the distinct regulatory and retail realities of each country. “Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia — each needs different licenses, different rails, different stablecoins, different marketing. The companies winning here run country-specific stacks, not regional ones,” she wrote in a post that has circulated across social channels.

“Stop treating LATAM as one market.”

The insight reflects a broader market truth: a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to gain traction where regulatory regimes differ, payment rails are fragmented, and user behavior diverges across populations and ages. The emphasis on local customization is consistent with the region’s reported demand for stablecoins that can be held as a store of value, rather than just used for on-chain transfers.

Indeed, Wang notes a critical user insight: many LATAM users want to hold stablecoins rather than merely move them. “Users don’t want to ‘use’ stablecoins for a transaction and convert back to local currency. They want to hold dollars. The transaction is the side effect,” she said. This points to a potential shift in product design—from cross-border remittance as a pure transfer service to a broader, closed-loop financial experience: remit → hold → spend → earn.

That stance aligns with a broader recognition in the region that real demand may center on stablecoin liquidity and multi-rail interoperability. Fintechs that can integrate local settlement rails, liquidity for stablecoins, and trusted, country-specific customer experiences stand a better chance of capturing a durable share of LATAM’s remittance market.

Wang also highlighted a gap: many fintech offerings have historically been designed with younger crypto traders in mind, not necessarily the older remittance sender. The typical remittance customer in LATAM tends to be older, often in the 40s to 60s range, and may require simpler, more transparent pathways to ensure that funds land reliably and can be accessed easily.

Competition, rails, and the evolving user landscape

The LATAM remittance arena is already crowded with a mix of traditional players and crypto-native firms. Western Union and MoneyGram, long-standing pillars of cross-border payments, are actively pursuing stablecoin-enabled rails following regulatory developments such as the GENIUS Act. Western Union has announced work toward its own USD-backed stablecoin, USDPT, which signals a significant shift in how the incumbent might participate in crypto-enabled settlements.

At the same time, crypto-native platforms—Binance, Bitso, Strike, and Felix Pago—are visible contenders in the LATAM remittance space, along with banks, retailers, and telecom players like Walmart and Tigo. The competitive landscape suggests a mixed ecosystem where on-ramps, local licensing, and reliable settlement are as important as technology itself.

For readers watching the policy and regulatory front, the evolving stance of authorities toward stablecoins and cross-border crypto payments will be critical. The market’s next phase depends on clear, workable frameworks that enable local players to operate with adequate consumer protections while preserving the efficiency gains that crypto rails can offer. The interplay between traditional rails and crypto-native approaches will shape which corridors gain momentum and which players set the pace.

The broader implication for investors and builders is clear: the LATAM remittance story is not a single, monolithic opportunity. It is a mosaic of country-specific needs, regulatory environments, and user behaviors. The corridors that appear attractive today may require fundamentally different product designs tomorrow, as regulatory clarity evolves and consumer preferences mature.

As the region’s regulatory and adoption landscape unfolds, observers should monitor how fintechs balance the dual goals of stability and accessibility. Stablecoins may become less about speculative trading and more about a practical store of value for everyday remittance users. In tandem, the race to build scalable, compliant, and user-friendly rails across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia—and the broader LATAM network—will determine which players gain durable trust and position themselves as a backbone of regional financial inclusion.

Readers should keep an eye on updates from major remittance rails, central banks’ evolving stances on digital currencies, and the continued growth or repositioning of large incumbents like Western Union as they experiment with stablecoins and crypto-enabled settlement. The LATAM remittance arc is unlikely to settle soon, but its next chapter will be shaped by the region’s distinct markets and the ability of firms to tailor solutions that fit local realities.