San Francisco-based blockchain company Ripple recently announced a new tie-up with Fenasbac in order to promote fintech opportunities in Brazil with the help of the Next accelerator program.
Notably, Ripple picked Brazil as its first company for targeted investment. The company has pointed to the country's crypto-friendly regulatory environment as well as a strong community of developers as the main reason behind such a decision.
Next is the largest startup acceleration program in the financial sector in Brazil.
Some of the startups that are sponsored by Next include AmFi, LoopiPay, and Liber.
Ripple has already identified two fintech startups that it is going to support. Naturally, the company targets those companies that are seeking to utilize the XRP Ledger.
Ripple has long had a strong presence in Brazil. As reported by U.Today, it set up a separate branch in the country that served as a springboard for its expansion in Latin America in 2019.
In 2022, the company also announced the launch of a new On-Demand Liquidity corridor, which was introduced in partnership with Travalex.
In April, Ripple president Monica Long spoke about how crypto has affected the financial landscape in Latin America.
Back in May, Ripple also announced a $100,000 donation to the victims of the Brazil floods.
A new regulatory framework
In May, Brazil's central bank announced that it would be able to introduce a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets later in 2024.
The central bank was granted authority over crypto regulation back in 2022. Its public consultation on cryptocurrency regulation wrapped up in January.