Stellar Development Foundation Invests $3 Million in Settle Network

Investment to support Settle Network's product growth for world's first stablecoin exchange

Marks SDF's fourth Enterprise Fund investment in FY20 for total of $9.265 M

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Dec 17, 2020, 08:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) announced a strategic investment in Settle Network, the largest digital assets settlement network across LATAM for exchange and cross-border payments.

The investment of up to $3 million, paid in lumens, will help bolster Settle's current suite of payment tools centered around stablecoins: fiat-to-crypto on ramps for B2C and B2B users, stablecoin issuance and marketplace, and stablecoin payment processing and merchant gateway.

"Settle Network is delivering on the vision and mission of Stellar, putting blockchain technology and access to finance into the hands of people that need it," said Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of SDF. "With this shared mission driving us, our investment represents the tremendous success of Settle to date in serving LATAM communities and its potential to make stablecoin technology accessible and useful globally. That's how together we scale and bring greater adoption of blockchain technology."

With an increasing demand for stablecoins as seen by the total supply of stablecoins doubling in Q3 2020,^¹ Settle Network is positioned to lead in step with this growing market, bolstered by the recent launch of the world's first stablecoin exchange, StableX. In addition, Settle has developed a strong foothold in Latin America via its fiat-to-crypto capabilities, including its home country of Argentina which is the third largest LATAM market, a population of 44.5 MM and where most wealth is still held in physical paper.

"When we started Settle, we chose to build on Stellar because its technology is designed for global interoperability and that has enabled us to create a thriving stablecoin business in LATAM and expand our product offering to launch the world's first stablecoin exchange and stablecoin gateway, StableX," stated Pablo Orlando, CEO of Settle Network. "There is no better partner for us than SDF, who matches our core values, as we take our technology to the next level, opening a new world of possibilities for international remittances and cross-border payments."

This is the fourth investment made from SDF's Enterprise Fund in the 2020 fiscal year, bringing its total investments to $9.265 million in four companies: DSTOQ, SatoshiPay, Abra, and Settle Network.

"We created the E nterprise Fund to support inspiring businesses like Settle Network that demonstrate the value of Stellar, bring value to the Stellar ecosystem, and represent our mission," said Jason Chlipala, Chief Operating Office of SDF. "We are proud of the impact this fund has made in its first year and look forward to furthering its reach in 2021."

Settle Network, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Argentina, is a Stellar-based business that provides crypto-to-fiat financial infrastructure as well as stablecoin fiat exchange and payment gateway. Their network provides digital asset settlement across LATAM and users of BRLT (Brazilian Reais) and ARST (Argentine Peso) stablecoins.

About Settle Network
Settle Network is the largest digital assets settlement network across LATAM for exchange and cross-border payments. Settle Network provides programmatic interoperability between traditional and digital assets, by leveraging financial infrastructure in every country they operate. Covering the most relevant markets, including the largest banks and thousands of retail locations. This enables unlimited and compliant interoperability between digital assets and the most important local currencies. For more information, visit: https://settlenetwork.com

About Stellar
Stellar is a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network for financial products and services. It is both a cross-currency transaction system and a platform for digital asset issuance, designed to connect the world's financial infrastructure. Dozens of financial institutions worldwide issue assets and settle payments on the Stellar network, which has grown to over 4 million accounts.

About Stellar Development Foundation
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, an open-source network that connects the world's financial infrastructure. Founded in 2014, the Foundation helps maintain Stellar's codebase, supports the technical and business communities building on the network, and serves as a voice to regulators and institutions. The Foundation seeks to create equitable access to the global financial system, using the Stellar network to unlock the world's economic potential through blockchain technology.

^¹ Source: CoinDesk, October 1, 2020

SOURCE The Stellar Development Foundation