Argentina’s Takenos Raises US$7M

Argentine fintech Takenos raised US$7M in a seed extension led by North Island Ventures and Road Capital Management, with existing investors Variant, Lattice, and Reverie also participating. The round brings its total funding to US$12M. The company announced the round on Wednesday. Takenos was founded in 2022 by Francisco Goulu, Joaquín Herrera, Simón Bouché, and Lucas Posada. Posada serves as CEO. The startup uses stablecoins to help individuals and businesses move money across currencies and borders, offering dollar accounts, cards, and APIs for corporate payments, payroll, and treasury management.

Takenos plans to use the capital to expand into more than 15 Latin American countries by 2027, obtain licenses, develop new products, and hire in engineering, compliance, and sales. It currently operates with local infrastructure and licenses in six countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, and Guatemala. It processes more than US$5B a year. North Island Ventures’ Travis Scher said the startup is building regulated financial infrastructure in markets that others overlook. Scher added that the firm invested in the original seed round and chose to double down after watching the team execute across six countries.

Market Context

The raise comes as stablecoins become payment infrastructure in Latin America. Chainalysis found that Latin America’s crypto economy grew 9.8% to US$593.8 billion in the 12 months to June 2026, even as global crypto market capitalization fell by half. By June 2026, stablecoins accounted for 32.1% of Latin American cross-border value. The data show crypto in the region shifting from speculative trading toward payments, savings, and corporate treasury use.

Takenos is chasing that corporate demand. About 70 companies use its cross-border payments product, including LATAM Airlines, which is using Takenos to distribute per diems to more than 5,000 crew and maintenance workers in five countries. That system runs on stablecoin infrastructure provided by Rain and replaces cash and local intermediaries in each market. The extension follows a quick build-up. Takenos raised a US$5M seed co-led by Variant and Lattice in October 2025.

What Stands Out

“Latin America doesn’t need another app on top of old infrastructure” — Lucas Posada, CEO and co-founder, Takenos, explaining why the company builds its own licensed local rails in each country.

Regional Relevance

For the United States, capital is backing the round, and the dollar is the product. All of Takenos’s investors are U.S.-based. The extension was led by U.S. funds North Island Ventures and Road Capital Management. Its rails effectively extend digital dollar access into economies with volatile local currencies. The timing also lines up with U.S. regulation. The Treasury Department opened proposed GENIUS Act rules to public comment ahead of the law’s January 2027 implementation. In that proposal, Treasury stated that the law shows clear intent for payment stablecoins to serve as a means of payment and settlement, including across borders. Clearer U.S. rules for issuers could strengthen the dollar-backed tokens that companies like Takenos depend on.

For the Latin America, Takenos is targeting the region’s secondary markets rather than its largest economies. According to the company, the 19 Latin American markets outside Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina together move more than US$1 trillion a year in cross-border transactions, yet paying, collecting, or saving across currencies there remains slow and costly. Bolivia is the clearest test case. Takenos was the first fintech company incorporated and regulated by Bolivia’s financial supervisor, ASFI, under the country’s new fintech framework, and it serves energy and mining companies there. Bolivia only lifted its crypto ban in mid-2024, which triggered a surge of more than 600% in transaction volumes within six months.

The Other Side

Can a license-first model scale to 15+ countries in about a year? Going from six markets to more than 15 by 2027 means securing approvals across many regulators on their timelines, not the company’s. A license-first approach builds trust with institutions, but each new market adds compliance costs that a company with US$12M in total funding has to absorb.

How durable is the corporate demand? The LATAM Airlines deal is a strong reference customer, but it covers per diems, not core payroll. Neither the service’s costs, custody arrangements, nor quantitative results compared with the previous system have been disclosed. Investors will want to see whether pilots like this turn into broader treasury relationships.

What happens when the big players move in? Stablecoin payments in Latin America are crowded, with regional wallets, global card networks, and digital banks all building dollar products. Takenos’s bet is that regulated local rails in smaller markets create a defensible niche. Larger competitors with bigger balance sheets could still follow once those markets prove profitable.

Sources & Transparency

• LatamList — Takenos raises $7M seed extension to expand across Latin America
• El Día Bolivia — Takenos levanta $us 7 millones para llevar su tecnología de pagos internacionales a más de 15 países de Latinoamérica en 2027
• iProUP — Takenos levanta u$s7 millones y busca llegar a 15 países de Latinoamérica
• iProfesional — LATAM Airlines cambia el sistema de pago de viáticos en cinco países con Takenos
• The Block — Crypto economy fell just 1.6% in 12 months despite $2.1 trillion market cap rout, Chainalysis says
• Crowdfund Insider — Brazil Tops Global Crypto Adoption as Latin America Grows During Bear Market
• Cointelegraph — US Treasury moves forward with rules on GENIUS Act after July deadline
• LatamList — Takenos raises $5M seed round co-led by Variant and Lattice