Crypto17 June, 20263 min read
Trace Finance Raises $32 Million Series A Led by CoinFund to Expand Stablecoin Settlement
“reclassify cross-border crypto transfers as foreign-exchange operations”
“authorities are closely monitoring how stablecoins could affect the international monetary system”
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Trace Finance raises $32M Series A led by CoinFund to scale cross-border stablecoin settlement. Expand its banking layer linking Brazil, the U.S., and emerging markets to stablecoin settlement.
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Trace’s $32M stablecoin push
Trace Finance, a regulated financial infrastructure company linking banks in Brazil and the United States to stablecoin settlement networks, said Wednesday it raised $32 million in a Series A funding round led by CoinFund. The company said the funding comes as Brazilian regulators reclassify cross-border crypto transfers as foreign-exchange operations, shifting institutional volume away from non-bank providers and toward licensed, bank-grade intermediaries. Trace Finance said it has processed more than $10 billion in cross-border transaction volume and has become a primary settlement partner for several major global payment firms operating in Latin America, including the Uruguay-based payments company dLocal.
In its news release, Trace said it is pairing stablecoins with traditional banking compliance rather than treating digital currency as a replacement for regulated rails, and it plans to expand beyond its initial U.S.-Brazil corridor into other Latin American markets, as well as the United States and Asia-Pacific region. CoinFund Partner Einar Braathen said, "Brazil is one of the largest and most operationally complex payment environments in the world, and Trace has built the regulated infrastructure that global blue-chip businesses are using to scale".
Regulation and CFO caution
PYMNTS tied the Trace round to stablecoins making in-roads with chief financial officers, saying it is "not so much a financial revolution" but a way to move money via more familiar banking channels.
PYMNTS reported that usage remains limited, finding "13% of companies using stablecoins and 5% using other cryptocurrencies," and it added that less than a quarter of CFOs expect stablecoins to become even somewhat important in the next three years.
In the same framing of compliance-driven adoption, Trace’s release said Brazil classified virtual asset cross-border flows as foreign exchange operations, shifting institutional volume away from non-bank providers and toward bank-grade infrastructure.
Trace co-founder and CEO Bernardo Brites said, "Stablecoins alone do not solve cross-border payments. Stablecoins plus regulated local bank infrastructure does," positioning the Series A as deepening banking, payments, and compliance infrastructure.
CoinFund’s Einar Braathen also argued that "The next phase of global money movement will be won by companies that can bridge on-chain settlement with trusted local banking systems".
Backers and what’s next
Trace’s Series A drew participation from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Capital, Valor Capital, Paxos, HOF Capital, and others, and it also listed strategic backers including Chainlink Labs and SNZ Capital. The financing also included founders and operators spanning stablecoin, payments, and banking ecosystems, with Sean Neville of Circle and Anatoly Yakovenko of Solana Labs named among the angel investors. Trace said it intends to use the Series A to scale into large global enterprises, deepen product capabilities across FX, bank connectivity, compliance, and stablecoin settlements, and expand its regulated footprint across Brazil, the United States, APAC, and other priority jurisdictions.
“Trace’s infrastructure combines stablecoin-enabled settlement with banking services, foreign exchange capabilities, compliance operations and local payment networks, including Brazil’s Pix instant payments system.”
In its description of the company’s model, Trace said it combines local payment rails, Pix connectivity, compliance operations, banking infrastructure, and stablecoin-enabled settlement to help enterprises, fintechs, exchanges, payment companies, and global platforms move money through complex markets at institutional scale. Trace’s announcement also said it is developing additional settlement products aimed at deepening its banking ties across Brazil and the broader region, while it expands its regulated infrastructure connecting global stablecoin liquidity with local banking systems across high-growth markets.