Ripio Is Launching a Crypto Exchange for 3 Latin American Nations

Ripio, a startup that's been working to boost crypto adoption in Argentina, is opening a new exchange platform for three Latin American markets.

The exchange will operate in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, though due to regulatory hurdles, only fixed-price purchases will be available for Mexican users, Ripio CEO Sebastian Serrano told CoinDesk at Consensus 2019.

The company already offers a crypto wallet and peer-to-peer lending, and is launching over-the-counter trading for institutional investors alongside the exchange.

Ripio users are by and large "Early adopters, avid investors and technophiles."

Ripio aims not only to provide crypto trading but to educate users who may be new to trading on exchanges.

First-time users of Ripio's new exchange will only be allowed to buy and sell crypto for a fixed price and will be provided with educational materials on how trading works, such as video tutorials, podcasts, daily news, blog posts and a forum.

Further, for regulatory reasons, Ripio will enable only spot trading, and no derivatives.

Stores, loans, ICO. Founded in 2014 as Bitpagos, the firm rebranded as Ripio in 2014.

Another service provided by Ripio is its peer-to peer credit network.

According to Serrano, around 500 loans are now in the system, with an average loan size around $100. Ripio raised $37 million during an ICO in 2016, selling the RCN tokens powering the credit network.