Stablecoin Pegged to the Colombian Peso Targets Multi-Billion Dollar Market

Although the lion’s share of the stablecoin market is occupied by USD-pegged assets – with a smaller subset of such pegged to the euro – companies all over the world have started launching stablecoins pegged to their native currencies in a bid to offer companies and consumers an alternative to traditional payment services.

One of these firms is Num Finance, a small Argentine fintech company, which just launched nCOP – a stablecoin built on the Polygon network and linked to the Colombian Peso.

The project was backed in part by a pre-seed round worth $1.5 million, led by investors such as Reserve, Ripio Ventures, and others.

We introduce nCOP, the leading stablecoin for Colombia, powered by @0xPolygon. pic.twitter.com/1kC12C93Nw

— Num Finance (@Num_Finance) August 24, 2023

Targeting a Multi-Billion-Dollar Market

According to Num Finance CEO Agustín Liserra, the Colombian market was targeted due to its status as one of the largest local ones.

“In Colombia, there exists a unique opportunity to “tokenize” remittances and offer them a yield in nCOP, based on regulated financial products. Currently, Colombia is one of the main recipients of remittances in Latin America, with nearly USD 6.5 billion flowing into the country. Num Finance aims to provide a new possibility for people to send and receive nCOP as remittances and get a yield on it.”

nCOP will reportedly provide yields of 8% to companies that choose the stablecoin over traditional remittance methods.

Current and Future Plans

Liserra further emphasized his company’s dedication to providing alternative methods of doing business to markets in which traditional finance is allegedly lagging behind from a technological standpoint.

“The launch of nCOP represents another stride in our commitment to bringing state-of-the-art financial technology to areas where conventional finance remains mired in outdated practices. As we expand our stablecoin offerings, we are continually encouraged by the unwavering confidence our investors have in our long-term vision.”

Num Finance has previously launched nARS and nPEN, two stablecoins linked to the Argentine peso and the Peruvian sol. According to a spokesperson for the company, Num Finance is also looking into stablecoins linked to the Mexican peso, the Brazilian real, and the Bahraini dinar.

However, Num Finance may soon have to compete with a homebrew Peruvian stablecoin.

As previously reported by CryptoPotato, the Colombian central bank is currently exploring the possible launch of an XRPL-based stablecoin in collaboration with Ripple and Spanish blockchain firm Peersyst Technology.