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Season 2, Episode 22

How Stablecoins Are Winning in Latin America

Host:

Drew Rogers, Founder and CEO

In this Stabledash Live interview from Stablecoin Conference LATAM 2025, we sit down with Dan Cartolin, Head of Business Development at Sphere Labs, to explore the explosive grassroots stablecoin adoption happening across Latin America.

Dan reveals the shocking reality in Bolivia where airport stores display prices in USDT and the parallel FX rate is determined by Binance P2P trading - a glimpse into how stablecoins are becoming default settlement rails in emerging markets facing dollar shortages and currency instability.

Key Highlights:
- Bolivia's dollar crisis: Stores and airports now display prices in USDT with Binance P2P as parallel FX rate
- Sphere built from Solana hackathon to processing billions annually with hundreds of enterprise clients
- Two-product strategy: Ramp (non-custodial consumer) + B2B institutional payment rails
- Dan's background: 5 years at Chainalysis from employee #10, built entire Latin America enterprise sales practice
- Selling to banks/governments in 2020: "Thank you, really interesting, we're not doing anything with this"
- Evolution: Banks went from buy/sell/hold → custody → stablecoin-based payment systems
- Treasury management emerging use case: Corporates exploring holding reserves in stablecoins
- Yield-bearing stablecoins game-changer for emerging markets without access to US money market funds
- Compliance remains biggest blocker - Sphere's US regulation status provides trust advantage
- Phantom wallet as gateway: Teaching traditional PSPs how to download wallets, avoid gas fees on Solana
- Target market: "Next wave"of enterprise adoption - companies just starting to learn about stablecoins

About Sphere Labs:
Sphere Labs is building cross-border payment infrastructure powered by stablecoins, with both consumer (Ramp) and institutional products. Born from a Solana hackathon, Sphere processes billions in annual volume serving hundreds of enterprise clients globally. The company focuses on non-custodial solutions, compliance transparency, and competitive FX rates while maintaining US regulatory status. Sphere's Ramp product enables retail users to on/off-ramp without centralized exchange custody, while their B2B rails serve traditional corporates, PSPs, and import/export businesses across emerging markets.

About Stabledash Live:
Stabledash Live brings you exclusive conversations from the world's leading stablecoin conferences, diving deep into the infrastructure, regulation, and innovations shaping the future of digital money. Subscribe for more insights from Stablecoin Conference LATAM 2025 and follow the stablecoin revolution transforming global payments.

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