Crypto payments app Oobit expands to Colombia after 200% growth in Brazil

Oobit, a crypto payments app, has launched in Colombia after reporting strong growth in Brazil. Colombia is now its ninth live market, so stablecoin payments in Latin America get another real-world test. My take: this is the part of crypto adoption that is boring enough to matter.

Oobit, a non-custodial crypto payments company, announced the Colombia launch after going live in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. The company says Colombia stood out because the Colombian peso ranked second among currencies used to buy stablecoins on centralized exchanges. That is a blunt signal. People are already buying stablecoins there. Now comes the harder question: will they actually spend them? That is where most launch stories fall apart.

Brazil is what keeps this from being just another market-expansion headline. Oobit says usage rose 200% after its Brazil rollout, inside what it calls a $44 billion Latin American crypto economy. The company also says active users in Brazil spend about $400 and make 20 transactions each month. We tried to read that as casual crypto behavior. It does not really fit. Twenty transactions per month sounds much closer to repeat payments than occasional speculation.

The spending mix matters for $USDT. Oobit says 35% of platform purchases go to grocery stores and supermarkets, 8.8% to restaurants, and 7.2% to miscellaneous food stores. In Brazil, users are also spending at beauty shops and barber shops. Service stations show up too. For traders, the read is fairly plain: $USDT demand is no longer only about exchange liquidity. Some of it is starting to look like consumer payment demand.

Careful, though. This is a signal, not mass adoption. Oobit is live in its ninth market, and Colombia joins a Latin America footprint that already includes Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Most guides treat stablecoin adoption as an exchange-volume story. That is only half right. The more useful pattern is stablecoin demand moving from exchanges into card spending, especially food-related merchants. In countries where local currency friction hurts, dollar-linked crypto has an obvious job.

There is a macro-flow angle too, though I would not overwork it. Stablecoins like $USDT make sense when users want crypto rails without taking BTC or ETH volatility at checkout. BTC is the high-beta trade. ETH is the infrastructure trade. $USDT is the thing someone can use for groceries, healthcare, restaurants, or fuel today. Is that less glamorous? Yes. It may also be more durable.

One detail is hard to ignore: Oobit’s February Series A raised $25 million and was led by Tether. That ties the Colombia launch directly to the company behind $USDT. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said at the time that Oobit and Tether shared a “mutual vision to drive the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies on a global scale.” Put less corporately: Tether is paying for distribution, not just defending liquidity on exchanges.

Oobit co-founder and CEO Amram Adar framed the launch as part of a regional shift. He said Latin America “is becoming a global leader in the real-world utility of digital assets” and added that crypto is becoming “a primary way to pay for groceries and healthcare.” I’ll be honest: the slogan is the least interesting part. The useful part is underneath it: payment volume, merchant acceptance, repeat stablecoin habits, and fewer empty token-rotation narratives.

For crypto investors, Colombia is worth watching because the Colombian peso already ranked second among centralized exchange stablecoin purchases. If Oobit can turn that exchange demand into card spending, it strengthens the case that stablecoins are Latin America’s practical crypto product. Why does this matter? Because the first crypto asset people use every week may not be BTC or ETH. In Oobit’s own data, $USDT is the lead asset.

Regulation is the quiet risk in the background. More everyday $USDT payments in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile could bring closer attention from local authorities on cards and consumer protection. Settlement will matter as well. Counter to the usual advice, more usage is not automatically cleaner for the business case. It can make the regulatory surface larger. That does not make the launch bearish. It means the next phase may depend less on app downloads and more on whether payment companies can keep non-custodial access, card usability, and compliance working at once.

What this means

Oobit’s Colombia launch adds to the stablecoin payments story in Latin America. This is no longer just people buying $USDT on exchanges and leaving it there. The main asset in the data is $USDT, while Oobit’s own token appears secondary in Brazil. For BTC and ETH traders, the takeaway is narrow but important: crypto liquidity may enter through dollar-linked payment rails first, then move into more volatile assets later. We have seen this pattern discussed for years; now the test is whether the card data keeps backing it up.

Watch Oobit’s Colombia numbers next: active users and average monthly transactions. Then watch whether grocery stores and supermarkets get anywhere near Brazil’s 35% share. Also watch whether $USDT stays the most used currency as Colombia becomes Oobit’s ninth market. The level to beat is not a BTC chart line. It is Brazil’s benchmark: 20 transactions per month and $400 in active-user spending. Simple bar. Hard to clear.

FAQ

Q: What is Oobit?
A: Oobit is a non-custodial crypto payments company that lets users spend crypto on everyday purchases.

Q: Which Latin American countries has Oobit expanded to?
A: Oobit has expanded to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. Colombia is its ninth live market globally.

Q: Why does Oobit’s Brazil growth matter?
A: Oobit reported 200% growth in Brazil. Active users there spend about $400 and make 20 transactions per month, which points to regular payment use rather than occasional large purchases.

Q: Which stablecoin is used most on Oobit?
A: Oobit’s data shows $USDT as the lead asset for transactions on its platform, especially for everyday purchases.

Q: What kinds of merchants are getting stablecoin payments through Oobit?
A: Oobit says 35% of purchases go to grocery stores and supermarkets. Restaurants and miscellaneous food stores are also part of the spending mix.

Q: Who led Oobit’s Series A funding round?
A: Tether led Oobit’s February Series A round, which raised $25 million.

Q: Why is Colombia important for Oobit?
A: Colombia matters because the Colombian peso ranked second among centralized exchange stablecoin purchases. That suggests stablecoin demand was already there before Oobit tried to move it into payments.

Q: Could stablecoin payments bring more regulation?
A: Yes. More stablecoin payments could draw attention from local authorities on cards, consumer protection, and settlement. Payment companies will need compliance that does not make the product too awkward to use.

Q: How does Oobit’s expansion affect BTC and ETH traders?
A: If stablecoin payments keep growing, liquidity may enter crypto through dollar-linked rails before moving into more volatile assets like BTC and ETH.

Q: What should investors watch in Colombia?
A: Watch active users, monthly transactions, the grocery and supermarket share, and whether $USDT remains the most used currency in Colombia.