Paradigm has spearheaded a $9 million Series A investment round for El Dorado, a Latin American payment platform that leverages stablecoins to facilitate cross-border transactions. The funding, announced on June 15, also saw participation from Coinbase Ventures and Verda Ventures, according to a statement from Paradigm.
Ricardo de Arruda, a partner at Paradigm, highlighted that Latin America handles over $100 billion in annual cross-border payment flows, yet the region relies on outdated, costly, and opaque systems. He noted that El Dorado is building the essential payment infrastructure to address this gap.
Founded in 2022 by immigrants from Latin America, El Dorado now boasts over 100,000 active users and has processed more than 5 million transactions. The company operates across 12 countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador.
Guillermo Goncalvez, co-founder and CEO of El Dorado, offered a broader perspective, stating that the region’s annual cross-border payment activity may reach nearly $1 trillion when including wider flows. He emphasized that about 60% of these transactions are business-to-business payments, primarily for imports and exports between the U.S. and Latin America. Goncalvez pointed out that many lucrative payment corridors, such as the route connecting Brazil and Bolivia, are overlooked by larger fintech firms like Nubank and Wise.
In addition to consumer services, El Dorado has launched a dedicated business platform that integrates fiat and stablecoin payment rails within a single app. The platform supports multi-signature and multi-organization account structures. More than 100 corporate clients have already joined, with electric vehicle imports from China emerging as a prominent use case.
El Dorado’s infrastructure is built on Tempo, a Layer 1 blockchain developed through a collaboration between Paradigm and Stripe. Josh Itzkovitz from Tempo explained that the network enables businesses worldwide to create accounts without needing a U.S. legal entity.
This investment is part of Paradigm’s broader push beyond traditional crypto venture capital. The firm has recently supported SendCutSend with a $110 million round, partnered with Stripe on the Tempo blockchain, and engaged in policy advocacy for stablecoin regulations. Earlier this month, Paradigm submitted comments to the FDIC opposing restrictions on third-party stablecoin reward programs, arguing such limits exceed the authority granted by the GENIUS Act. These initiatives underscore Paradigm’s focus on stablecoin-based payment solutions.