On Oct. 13, 2026, Tether said it had invested in the seed round of EFY Finance, a Latin American stablecoin payments company. Neither company disclosed the amount, the valuation or the other investors. The stated goal is more institutional use of Tether's two dollar tokens, USD₮ and USA₮, in the region. The same release also states plainly that USA₮ is not covered by the FDIC, by SIPC or by any other government insurance, even though a federally chartered US bank issues it. EFY's operating figures below all come from Tether's own announcement.
What was announced on Oct. 13, 2026
Tether's release says the investment will:
- expand institutional use of USD₮ and USA₮ in Latin America;
- strengthen the infrastructure that links stablecoins to the traditional financial system in the region.
The release does not disclose:
- the size of Tether's investment;
- the total size of the seed round;
- EFY Finance's valuation;
- any other investors;
- a timeline, or a target country, for using the money.
Two people are quoted. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said: "Across Latin America, the US dollar is a lifeline against inflation and capital controls." He added that reliable dollar access through USD₮ and USA₮ needs regulated infrastructure, banking connections and distribution. Andrés Tobón, EFY Finance's co-founder and CEO, said: "Having Tether as a strategic investor gives us an exceptional collaborator to accelerate that vision." He described that vision as connecting digital dollars to bank accounts, payment networks, cards and cross-border settlement.
What EFY Finance does, according to Tether
| Area | What the release states |
|---|---|
| Core business | Stablecoin-based cross-border payments, accounts and digital asset custody |
| Products for USD₮ and USA₮ | On- and off-ramps, over-the-counter (OTC) services, wallets and cards |
| Currencies and corridors | More than 12 |
| Settlement reach | Local accounts in 17 countries |
| Licence | Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) licence in El Salvador |
| Accounts | More than 25,000 active individual and business accounts |
| Markets named as having a presence | Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Ecuador |
On Oct. 20, 2026, LatamFintech listed EFY Finance's headquarters as Barranquilla, Colombia.
What the licence does and does not tell you
The only licence the release names is El Salvador's DASP licence. El Salvador's National Digital Assets Commission (CNAD) supervises these providers and keeps a public register of them. The release does not name any licence for EFY in the other 16 settlement countries. Reaching a country through settlement to local accounts is not the same thing as holding a licence there.
The Bolivia thread
On Aug. 6, 2025, CriptoNoticias reported Tobón as saying that EFY had an alliance with Bolivia's state-owned Banco Unión to give Bolivians USDT access through regulated channels, backed by the regulator ASFI. He said the launch was planned "para las próximas semanas" ("in the coming weeks"). The report included no statement from Banco Unión or ASFI. Tether's October release does not mention Banco Unión.
EFY Finance's stated footprint, part by part
What does Tether's release say EFY Finance sells, where does it reach, and how large is it?
| Part of the footprint | What the release states | Figure given | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Services | Stablecoin cross-border payments, accounts, digital asset custody, on- and off-ramps, OTC services, wallets and cards | None given | Source: Tether, Oct 13, 2026 |
| Currencies and corridors | Services offered across currencies and payment corridors | More than 12 | Source: Tether, Oct 13, 2026 |
| Settlement reach | Settlement to local accounts | 17 countries | Source: Tether, Oct 13, 2026 |
| Licence and accounts | Digital Asset Service Provider licence in El Salvador; regulated services for active individual and business accounts | More than 25,000 accounts | Source: Tether, Oct 13, 2026 |
| Named markets | Presence in Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama and Ecuador | None given | Source: Tether, Oct 13, 2026 |
Every row restates the investor's own announcement, and no independent source has confirmed EFY's services, reach, licence or account count.
USA₮: issued by a bank, insured by no one
This is the part of the release that matters most to holders. According to Tether's disclaimer, USA₮:
- is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., a federally chartered bank;
- is "not subject to the insurance protections of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation";
- is not covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) or by any other government agency's insurance;
- is not legal tender under 31 U.S.C. § 5103;
- is not issued, backed, approved or guaranteed by the US government.
In practice, a bank charter for the issuer is a fact about who regulates the issuer. It does not mean the token works like a bank deposit. If something goes wrong, USA₮ holders have no FDIC deposit insurance, and no SIPC broker-failure cover, to fall back on.
Regional context, with dates
Chainalysis published its Latin America report on Oct. 2, 2025. It covers data up to June 2025 and was not written about EFY.
- Latin America recorded "nearly $1.5 trillion" in crypto transaction volume between July 2022 and June 2025. That figure covers all crypto, not only stablecoins.
- Between July 2024 and the end of June 2025, stablecoins made up over half of all exchange purchases made in Colombian pesos, Argentine pesos and Brazilian reais. Chainalysis says this is based on CryptoCompare order-book data and is "not a comprehensive view" of centralised exchange activity.
- The report gives volumes for four of EFY's six named markets: Mexico ($71.2 billion), Colombia ($44.2 billion), Bolivia ($14.8 billion) and El Salvador ($3.5 billion). Ecuador and Panama are not broken out.
Of the three currencies in the stablecoin finding, only Colombia is one of EFY's named markets. The data shows regional demand. It says nothing about EFY's own business.
What to watch next
- Whether Tether, EFY or another round participant discloses the amount or the valuation.
- Licences for EFY outside El Salvador, especially in Colombia, where it is based, and in Bolivia, where ASFI Resolution 540/2025 sets rules for crypto service providers.
- Any confirmed launch of the Banco Unión USDT channel.
- Whether USA₮ actually shows up in EFY's products, since the release mentions it alongside USD₮.
