Share this article
Stablecoin Spending Goes Mainstream With Opera MiniPay’s LatAm Integration
The feature connects USDT balances to PIX and Mercado Pago, enabling users to pay with QR codes and converting to local currency instantly.
Nov 19, 2025, 11:43 p.m.
What to know:
- Opera's MiniPay wallet has launched a "Pay like a local" feature, allowing users in Argentina and Brazil to spend stablecoins at shops and services using local payment systems.
- The feature connects USDT balances to PIX and Mercado Pago, enabling users to pay with QR codes and converting to local currency instantly.
- MiniPay plans to expand the feature to other markets, partnering with providers to offer on- and off-ramps across Latin America and Canada.
Browser maker Opera’s MiniPay, a stablecoin wallet built on the Celo blockchain, has rolled out a new feature allowing users to spend stablecoins directly at shops and services in Argentina and Brazil through a feature dubbed "Pay like a local."
The update, announced during the Ethereum Devconnect conference in Buenos Aires, connects dollar-denominated USDT balances to Latin America’s two largest payment systems, PIX in Brazil and Mercado Pago in Argentina. It’s now available for the wallet’s over 10 million users.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The integration is designed to make crypto usable for daily spending. Instead of converting USDT manually or relying on centralized exchanges, users can scan local QR codes and pay from their MiniPay wallet.
Support for PIX payments via QR code is set to be rolled out in the future, Opera’s Director of Global Comms Julia Szyndzielorz told CoinDesk.
Noah, the infrastructure provider behind the feature, handles instant conversion behind the scenes, so merchants receive their local currency — Argentine pesos or Brazilian reais — without needing to touch crypto.
The move reflects a focused shift in crypto’s direction, away from speculation and toward real-world utility, Szyndzielorz said. PIX, which handles more payments than cards in Brazil, is used by over 76% of the population. Mercado Pago reaches nearly 70% of the Argentine market. Speaking to CoinDesk, Opera’s Szyndzielorz said "Pay like a local" will be expanding into other markets in the future.
To support the expansion, MiniPay is partnering with El Dorado, AlfredPay and Paytrie to provide on- and off-ramps across Latin America and Canada.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
DAWN raises $13M to expand decentralized broadband networks
The decentralized wireless protocol plans U.S. expansion and new international deployments as investors back a user-owned alternative to legacy internet providers.
What to know:
- DAWN raised $13 million in a Series B led by Polychain Capital.
- The protocol enables individuals and organizations to own and monetize wireless broadband infrastructure.
- New funding will support U.S. growth and international rollouts.
Top Stories
