Oobit expanded its crypto payment platform to Colombia as stablecoin spending grows across Latin America.
Stablecoin News
Tether-backed payments platform Oobit has launched in Colombia, marking its ninth active market. The company already operates across Latin America, including Brazil, Argentina and Chile.
Chainalysis data cited in the announcement showed the Colombian peso ranked second globally in the share of centralized exchange stablecoin purchases by currency.
Oobit runs a non-custodial platform that connects users' crypto wallets to a Visa-linked payment system. The system reaches more than 150 million merchants across more than 80 countries. Users spend digital assets directly from their wallets without routing funds through traditional bank off-ramp services.
Stablecoin Spending Dominates Latin America
Tether (USDT) holds the largest share of transactions on the platform, ahead of Oobit's native token (OOB) and USD Coin (USDC). Grocery stores and supermarkets account for 35% of spending across its Latin American markets. Restaurants, food stores, and department stores rank as the next most common spending categories.
Brazil has been Oobit's most active market since its November 2024 launch there. Activity in the country has risen more than 200% since then, with active users spending an average of $400 per month across roughly 20 transactions. Brazilian users also spend crypto at gas stations, beauty shops, and electronics retailers.
Stablecoin use for everyday purchases is growing across Latin America beyond Oobit's platform. Mercado Libre, the region's largest online marketplace by revenue, launched stablecoin-based transfers between Brazil, Mexico and Chile in April 2026 using its Meli Dollar token. That token can be used for purchases within Mercado Libre's ecosystem and distributed to users as cashback.
A 2025 Bitso report found that US dollar-linked stablecoins made up 40% of crypto purchases on its platform. That figure is more than double Bitcoin's 18% share. Bitso attributed the gap to the growing use of stablecoins for routine payments and financial transactions across the region.
The overall stablecoin market grew from roughly $243 billion in May 2025 to more than $322 billion by May 2026, according to DefiLlama. Direct Bitcoin (BTC) payments are also gaining ground in other emerging markets. Africa Bitcoin Corporation executive chairman Stafford Masie said in March 2026 on the “Coin Stories” podcast that merchants in parts of Africa accept payments in satoshis in place of dollars or local currencies.
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