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The World Trade Center in São Paulo hosted today (18) the first day of MERGE São Paulo 2026 open to the public, an event that brought together leaders from the financial and crypto-asset sectors to discuss the future of digital assets.
The dominant theme of the day was unequivocal: stablecoins have ceased to be a topic restricted to cryptocurrency enthusiasts and have become a central piece of the new global financial infrastructure, with Brazil at the center of attention.
Brazil is Highlighted for Ripple
The country has been repeatedly cited as one of the fastest-growing markets for stablecoin-based products. Monica Long, President of Ripple, stated that Brazil is the company’s fastest-growing market in this segment, citing collaboration between the private sector and the Central Bank as a key factor.
“Regulatory clarity is really everything,” she said, emphasizing that the willingness of institutions like Itaú and BTG to adopt new technologies also drives this leadership. Ripple is in the process of obtaining the VASP license in the country to operate in a regulated manner.
Jonathan Levin, from Chainalysis, reinforced this assessment: Brazil was one of the first countries to register organic adoption of stablecoins for import and export operations, with significant volumes visible in blockchain transaction data. He also highlighted the unique coexistence between Pix and the crypto ecosystem, as well as the security challenges that this combination brings.
“Defenders need the same level of technology that attackers have,” Jonathan warned.
Praising the coalition formed by fintechs, banks, prosecutors, and the Brazilian Central Bank to combat fraud.
Brazilian regulation, even more recent than the European MiCA framework, which has been in effect for over a year, was seen as a potential advantage.
“Once the new regulation is in effect, Brazil will likely have an advantage over Europe,” assessed one of the panelists.
From Payments to Capital Markets
While stablecoins were previously discussed primarily as payment tools and stores of value, the MERGE panels indicated a significant expansion of use cases toward the institutional market.
André Portilho, from BTG Pactual, described the potential for transformation in the wholesale market: the integration of stablecoins and tokenized funds into repurchase agreements (repos) and collateral management could lead the market, currently operated mostly on an overnight basis, to intraday transactions.
“We are talking about trillions of dollars being moved daily. This completely changes how we interpret these markets,” said Portilho.
Ripple is already conducting pilot projects in this direction, working with Singapore’s DBS bank and Franklin Templeton asset manager on the use of a tokenized money market fund, Benji, as collateral in repo operations.
Aviva Investors, from the UK, is also part of this ecosystem. In the corporate treasury segment, the company highlighted the use of its products by companies such as Core Pay, based in Canada, for the efficient movement of funds between entities worldwide.
Big Players Enter the Field
Adoption by traditional companies was another prominent theme at MERGE São Paulo. A representative from BTC2, a global market maker, cited concrete initiatives:
- Stripe invested heavily in stablecoins as its own payment rail
- Western Union launched its own stablecoin to compete with Tether among its 150 million monthly users; and
- Fidelity also announced its entry into the segment.
Antônia Souza, Director of Blockchain and Crypto for Latin America at Visa, described the company’s strategy as connecting the dots between stablecoins, tokenized assets, and CBDCs, while maintaining a familiar experience for the end user.
“Our goal is that the user doesn’t need to understand what blockchain or stablecoin is. They just need to understand that it’s a solution that solves their problems,” stated Antônia Souza.
Visa already allows issuers and acquirers to settle transactions directly with stablecoins. USDC, USDG, and ROC are already integrated into its global infrastructure, and a stablecoin-backed credit card product is under development.
Ripple Launches Ripple Dollars and Targets Institutional Investors
Ripple, with 13 years in the market and over 75 licenses worldwide, has reinforced its position as a player with regulatory compliance.
Its stablecoin, launched in 2024 and nicknamed “Ripple Dollars” during the panel discussion (alluding to the difficulty of pronouncing the official name RLUSD in Portuguese), is already among the top five dollar-backed stablecoins, distributed on exchanges such as Binance, Kraken, Bitso, and Mercado Bitcoin.
The asset is regulated by the DFS of New York and has approval from the OCC National Trust Charter, with monthly audits by Deloitte.
“We are the only player that can offer the entire end-to-end digital asset lifecycle under one roof,” said Monica Long.
Tokenization and the Future of Financial Infrastructure
The debate surrounding DeFi and tokenization has brought a provocative perspective. André Portilho, from BTG Pactual, questioned the logic of classifying blockchain infrastructures as “risky assets” while governments and the World Bank issue AAA-rated bonds on networks like Ethereum.
“This is an incongruity. Over time, managers will realize that these tracks are, in fact, less risky,” he argued.
Predictions for the coming months include increased participation from the world’s largest banks in the custody of digital assets, significant growth in stablecoins backed by currencies other than the dollar—75% of conversations with Bullish clients already revolve around this topic—and the emergence of tokenized currency markets as a new frontier of innovation.
The Agenda Continues Tomorrow at the WTC
MERGE São Paulo 2026 continues tomorrow, Thursday (19), at the World Trade Center, with more panels on DeFi, institutional adoption, regulation and startups.
The post How Brazil Became Ground Zero in TradFi’s Stablecoin Takeover Amid Ripple, Visa, and Stripe Push appeared first on BeInCrypto.