Latam Insights: XRP Surges as a Surprise Asset in Latam; Meliuz Posts Stellar Financial Data

2025-08-17 22:37:39

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto news from Latin America over the past week. In this week’s edition, XRP adoption rises in Latam, Meliuz posts record-breaking financial results, and Brazil unveils anti-tariff measures.

Bitso Report: XRP Rises as a Dark Horse in Latam Portfolios

While the cryptocurrency market in Latam shows itself to be concentrated between traditional cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, this might have started to change. The “Crypto Landscape in Latin America – First Half 2025” report, issued by Bitso, one of Latam’s largest crypto exchanges, shows that while bitcoin is still king in the region, XRP climbed as a dark horse, surpassing more traditional options.

The report, which analyzes the behavior of customers in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, where Bitso has direct operations, found that bitcoin is still part of 54% of all the portfolios in the region. Nonetheless, XRP managed to overcome ether, becoming the second most held asset by investors, present in 12% of all accounts custodied by Bitso.

Ether comes in a close third with 11%, while stablecoins and local currencies reached 12%. Other cryptocurrencies, such as SOL and memecoins, are present in less than 5% of Latam’s portfolios.

Meliuz Reports Stellar Financial Results, Achieves 908% BTC Yield

Bitcoin Treasury Companies (BTCs) are reaping the rewards of introducing BTC as a reserve portfolio asset in their business strategies. Meliuz, the Brazilian cashback company that became the largest BTC of Latam, has posted stellar financial results, showing that holding bitcoin does boost interest in these companies.

Gabriel Loures, CEO of Meliuz, highlighted that this move allowed them to register a net profit of $1.4 million during Q2 2025, reversing the course that saw them hemorrhaging money and losing over $11 million in 2024.

While analysts initially qualified Meliuz’s bitcoin shift as disconnected, the company pioneered fundraising operations for bitcoin purchases in Brazil, having issued shares and using these resources to fund its bitcoin acquisitions. The company now boasts a Bitcoin Yield of 908% between 2Q25 and 1Q25, meaning that it greatly increased the amount of BTC held by each of its shares.

Brazil Unveils US Tariff Countermeasures as Trade Conflict Worsens

Brazil, the eighth-largest economy in the world, is preparing to deal with the effects of the 50% tariff regime enacted by the Trump administration on its exports. On Wednesday, Brazilian authorities unveiled an aid package focused on helping producers of items that will have to pay these levies to soften the effects of these measures.

The Plan, called “Sovereign Brazil,” involves a $5.55 billion credit line that will be used to help these producers, and also another fund directed to issue tax rate cuts to smaller companies.

The plan was enacted by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva via an executive order that will have to be supported and approved by Congress. While Brazil had approved a regulation to allow the government to respond with reciprocal tariffs to this threat, Lula decided against it.