In the eighth and season finale episode of Season 2 of Stable Talks powered by Bitso Business, Caio Barbosa (Lumx) and Julián Colombo (Bitso) welcome Manuel Beaudroit, founder of Belo, to explore how crypto evolved from a niche technology into real financial infrastructure across Latin America.
Manu has been building in crypto for more than a decade and witnessed nearly every phase of the industry, from the early cypherpunk culture to today’s stablecoin-driven payment rails.
🎧 Listen to the full episode below or read the highlights.
Highlights from the conversation
1. The cypherpunk era of crypto
“The early years of crypto were very anarcho-capitalist, mostly cyberpunks experimenting with the technology.”
Between 2012 and 2015, most crypto activity revolved around ideology and experimentation.
But real adoption only started when companies began building practical use cases on top of Bitcoin.
2. Building cross-border payments before stablecoins
In 2015, Manu’s previous company Bitex began using Bitcoin to solve a real problem: freelancers in Argentina who needed to receive payments internationally despite capital controls.
The solution used Bitcoin as a settlement layer while hedging FX exposure, essentially a precursor to today’s stablecoin-based payment rails.
3. Argentina: a natural crypto laboratory
Argentina’s history of inflation and capital controls created a unique environment for crypto adoption.
Stablecoins such as DAI and USDT became part of a financial survival kit for many users, allowing them to access digital dollars outside the traditional banking system.
4. When crypto becomes invisible
One of the most interesting shifts discussed in the episode is that many people are already using crypto without knowing it.
Remittances, cross-border settlements and payment flows increasingly use blockchain infrastructure behind the scenes.
5. The Belo PIX payment breakthrough
One of Belo’s biggest product breakthroughs came when they enabled Argentinians traveling in Brazil to pay with PIX using crypto infrastructure in the background.
The payment flow involved several steps:
Converting Argentine pesos to USDT
Sending the transaction on-chain
Swapping into Brazilian reais
Settling through PIX
All in seconds, creating a seamless user experience.
6. The rise of local stablecoins
According to Manu, stablecoins are here to stay, and local currency stablecoins may become increasingly important.
They allow:
• Foreign investors to access local markets
• Programmable exposure to emerging economies
• New financial products built directly on-chain
7. The future: agentic commerce
One of the most intriguing ideas from the episode is the rise of AI agents as economic actors.
As commerce becomes increasingly automated, crypto’s properties, 24/7 operation, programmability and native digital settlement, could make it the default payment layer for machine-to-machine transactions.
Still early
Despite more than a decade of development, Manu believes the industry is still at the beginning.
Crypto, stablecoins and tokenized assets are only starting to reshape how financial infrastructure works.
“We’re still scratching the surface.”
— Manuel Beaudroit
How is Belo using crypto infrastructure for cross-border payments in Latin America?
Belo enables Argentinians to make payments in Brazil using PIX through crypto infrastructure in the background. The flow converts pesos to USDT, sends the transaction onchain, swaps into reais, and settles through PIX in seconds.
Why has Argentina become a natural laboratory for stablecoin adoption?
Argentinas history of inflation and capital controls created a unique environment where stablecoins like DAI and USDT became a financial survival tool, making it one of the highest per-capita crypto adoption markets.
What are local currency stablecoins and why do they matter?
Local currency stablecoins are tokens pegged to non-USD currencies. They allow foreign investors to gain programmable exposure to emerging markets and enable new financial products built directly onchain.
What is the agentic economy and how do stablecoins fit in?
The agentic economy refers to a future where AI agents operate as autonomous economic actors. Stablecoins are the ideal payment rail because they operate 24/7, are programmable, and offer native digital settlement.
