Since 2016 he became interested in cryptocurrencies, but the information about it was scarce and unclear. So, Martín Benítez decided to train and create his own cryptocurrency blog through which he began to “evangelize” about the opportunities offered by the new business.
In 2018, he met the owners of Ripio, an Argentine company, and was a privileged witness to its growth. After working at another exchange company (cryptocurrency exchange) he was tempted to land Ripio in Uruguay and accepted. As Ripio’s manager for Uruguay, Benítez hopes the country can become a crypto hub.
To date, the platform has 3 million users located mainly in Argentina and Brazil. In the sum of all its operations, Ripio has 350 employees. Meanwhile, in Uruguay, its workforce is made up of 30 people—a figure that they bet on doubling by 2023—. Recently landed in Uruguay, the company is presenting itself this weekend at the Campus Party, the most important innovation event in the country, which is held at the Punta del Este Convention Center between March 31 and April 2.
Below is a fragment of Benítez’s talk with Café & Negocios.
Why did you decide to settle in Uruguay? What does the country offer them?
Within the region, Uruguay offers economic, social and political stability that few other countries offer. Also in technology it is quite advanced. A little marked by the closing of a series B investment for the company—which was worth US$50 million—, it was to set up and carry out this regional expansion and it was decided, in addition to Argentina and Brazil—where they already have a presence—to expand to Mexico, Colombia and Uruguay to cover the entire Southern Cone and take advantage of Uruguay’s stability.
Do you think of more investments in the country?
Yes of course. We believe that this year we will end up with an investment of US$ 3 million and we hope that it will be at least as much for next year. It is a business that is growing fast and without a doubt there will be more investment.
Government authorities were present at the Ripio launch event, including the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Omar Paganini; Was the Executive Branch discussed the regulation of cryptocurrencies in Uruguay?
Not directly, we are participating in the innovation table of the Central Bank (BCU) and making our contributions based on the experience of more than nine years in the industry. With excellent professionals in the legal area, we are giving some suggestions on how Uruguay—with an appropriate regulatory framework—could be a pioneer in the region, take advantage of that and become a crypto hub in the region. We are trying to contribute from the conceptual framework that is setting the agenda on the issue with the Central Bank.
Do you think that this regulation could become a reality soon?
It would be necessary to ask the BCU; on our side we are pushing and trying to help with everything so that yes. We believe that it is necessary that it be as soon as possible because in technology everything goes fast, and for Uruguay to take advantage and good investments really come, it must be done as quickly as possible. Governments and central banks have their times and obviously the agenda was marked until recently by the law of urgent consideration. We hope that, now that it is more liberated, progress can be made on this issue, which could be very good for Uruguay if this year we manage to take a step forward.
Users and companies increasingly use cryptocurrencies, how do you see Uruguayans in this regard?
In Uruguay there are not many options to buy cryptocurrencies. We noticed that there is a lot of acceptance and need to find a solution that is direct and simple to buy, like the one we offer. Although Uruguay is not one of the largest in the region, the market can be quite interesting because there are not many options. It is difficult to talk about numbers because the market is very green. There are people who say that in Uruguay between 4% and 5% of the population has or has had cryptocurrencies, but it has not yet been fully studied.
One of the big issues to be resolved in the industry is how to go from crypto to traditional currencies, how does the change work in the case of Ripio?
We offer that people can fund their account in pesos through Mercadopago or bank transfer and then vice versa if they want to sell their cryptocurrencies. For now we start in pesos and we hope to add dollars in the coming weeks.
How do you imagine the development of cryptocurrencies in recent years?
Five years from now I imagine it with much higher and motivated cryptocurrency values, because the adoption of blockchain and different cryptocurrencies is going to be more popular. In 10 years I see a fully consolidated cryptocurrency industry adapted to the financial system, where it will be one more payment option anywhere.
