Polygon Tops LatAm Stablecoin Volumes at $309M in May

Polygon processed $309 million in stablecoin transactions in Latin America in May, surpassing other blockchain networks in the region. Polygon reported the network held more than half of active wallets in the area and that peso- and real-pegged tokens contributed to the volume.

Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder and CEO of the Polygon Foundation, reported that non-dollar stablecoin volumes across chains have risen roughly 16-fold over the last six years and that holder counts have increased about 30-fold. He said Polygon registered $309 million in regional stablecoin activity in May.

Activity on Polygon in May concentrated around country-pegged tokens, including BRLA, a fully collateralized Brazilian real stablecoin, and COPM, a Colombian peso-pegged stablecoin. BRLA has a market capitalization above $3.2 million and is connected to Brazil’s Pix instant-payments system. Nailwal noted BRLA and COPM were among the top three emerging-market stablecoins on Polygon during the month.

A Visa-commissioned report found the total supply of non-dollar stablecoins reached about $1.2 billion and that monthly transfers using those tokens totaled around $10 billion.

Market observers say dollar-pegged stablecoins have been widely used in Latin America as a hedge against high inflation and currency devaluation. Local-currency stablecoins have been used for digital payments on national rails, for cross-border settlement in regional commerce, and to expand access to financial services for people without traditional bank accounts.

Data on rising non-dollar stablecoin supply and transfer volumes, together with Polygon’s May figures, reflect increased issuance and on-chain use of national-pegged tokens across the region. Nailwal described the trend by saying, “Polygon leads stablecoin adoption in LATAM,” and he added that emerging-market stablecoins reached a new monthly high on the network in May.