Global Stablecoin Infrastructure
Trace Finance Raises $32 Million Series A to Bridge Stablecoin Settlement with Global Banking
Key Points
The Series A attracted not just CoinFund, but a long list of institutional backers, including Haun Ventures, Valor Capital and Chainlink Labs, plus participants such as SNZ Capital and investors tied to major payments/banking firms (e.g., Itaú Unibanco’s Ricardo Villela Marino) and crypto founders (e.g., Circle co-founder Sean Neville; Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko; Mesh co-founder/CEO Bam Azizi).
Trace Finance says it is already a primary infrastructure provider for four of the largest global payment companies active in Latin America, naming dLocal among them.
Co-founder and CEO Bernardo Brites described the funding goal in operational terms: “This round lets us deepen the banking, payments, and compliance infrastructure that global fintechs, exchanges, international banks and enterprises rely on to bridge digital settlement with trusted local financial systems.”
Trace’s financing history includes a 2022 seed round of $4.3 million led by HOF Capital, with participation from Circle Ventures and Mantis VC (co-founded by the Chainsmokers’ electronic music duo), and HOF Capital later joined the Series A.
On the China regulatory side, PBOC official Wang Xin said authorities are closely monitoring stablecoins’ effect on “the international monetary system and cross-border payments,” and reporting contrasted this with earlier remarks by PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng in October 2025, when he characterized stablecoins as high-risk and vulnerable to misuse for illicit cross-border transfers.
Trace Finance has raised $32 million in a Series A round led by CoinFund, the company announced June 17, 2026. The stablecoin infrastructure startup has now processed more than $10 billion in cross-border transactions and serves four of the largest global payment companies operating in Latin America, including dLocal. Decrypt reported the round also drew backing from Coinbase Ventures, Jump Capital, and Paxos.
The raise values Trace at roughly $240 million — about 10 times its 2022 seed-round valuation of $24 million, The Block reported. The announcement landed the same morning a senior Chinese central bank official warned that stablecoins need closer government monitoring, highlighting the split between Western regulatory tailwinds and Beijing's cautious stance.
From Brazilian Neo-Bank to Global Payment Plumbing
Trace Finance started in 2022 as a bank for startups. It then pivoted to something less flashy but far more valuable: the behind-the-scenes API layer that lets big companies settle payments in stablecoins while still connecting to local bank accounts and payment rails. In Brazil, that means plugging into Pix, the country's instant payment network. Co-founder and CEO Bernardo Brites put it plainly: "Stablecoins alone do not solve cross-border payments. Stablecoins plus regulated local bank infrastructure does," according to Business Wire.
The company's first outside money was a $4.3 million seed round in 2022 led by HOF Capital, with Circle Ventures and Mantis VC — the fund co-founded by the electronic music duo the Chainsmokers — also joining in, The Block reported. HOF Capital returned for the Series A. The new round will fund expansion in foreign exchange, bank connectivity, compliance tools, and stablecoin settlement, with a push into Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
A Star-Studded Investor List Signals Industry Confidence
Beyond the institutional names, the round drew a striking lineup of individual investors. Circle co-founder Sean Neville, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, and Mesh CEO Bam Azizi all participated, FinSMEs reported. So did Ricardo Villela Marino, a partner and vice-chairman at Itaú Unibanco, Latin America's largest bank. His involvement signals that traditional banks now see Trace as a partner, not a threat.
CoinFund partner Einar Braathen led the deal and joined Trace's board. "The next phase of global money movement will be won by companies that can bridge on-chain settlement with trusted local banking systems," he said, per Business Wire. Other backers include Haun Ventures, Valor Capital, Chainlink Labs, and SNZ Capital.
GENIUS Act and Brazil's FX Rules Created the Opening
Two regulatory shifts created the market Trace now occupies. In July 2025, President Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, giving stablecoins their first federal framework in the United States. The law requires full reserve backing and opens a path for non-bank companies to get limited bank charters. That gave institutional buyers the legal clarity they needed to use stablecoins for real settlement, PYMNTS reported.
In Brazil, regulators reclassified cross-border crypto transfers as foreign exchange operations. That change pushed large institutions away from unregulated platforms and toward bank-grade providers like Trace, Decrypt noted. Hong Kong added another layer in August 2025, when its Stablecoin Ordinance took effect. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority began granting the first stablecoin licenses in March 2026, opening the Asia-Pacific corridor Trace is now targeting.
China Sounds the Alarm as Western Rivals Move Fast
On the same morning Trace made its announcement, PBOC Research Bureau Director Wang Xin spoke at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai. He called for stricter monitoring of stablecoins' effect on "the international monetary system and cross-border payments." That echoed PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng, who called stablecoins "high-risk" in October 2025 and warned they could be misused for illicit transfers, according to Crypto Economy.
China is not standing still. Twenty-six financial institutions have signed onto CBETS, Beijing's blockchain platform for the digital yuan in cross-border trade. That puts state-backed digital currency infrastructure in direct competition with private stablecoin networks like the one Trace is building. Meanwhile, Stripe paid $1.1 billion for Bridge and Mastercard moved to acquire BVNK for $1.8 billion, showing that the race to own cross-border payment rails is accelerating fast, The Block reported.
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