Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the nonprofit organization responsible for the blockchain’s development, has invested $15 million in the Mexican cryptocurrency marketplace Airtm through its venture capital arm.
Stellar Development Foundation investment
According to the press release, Airtm will use the funds raised to develop its own technology platform. The investment also calls for integration with Stellar in 2022.
SDF noted that this is the biggest deal for its venture capital wing. The fund made five strategic investments totaling $24.5 million in 2021. Since launching in fiscal 2020, Enterprise Fund has invested $33.76 million in fintech and blockchain companies.
Airtm is the operator of a P2P cryptocurrency trading platform and a digital wallet that allows users to connect bank accounts. The company is also the issuer of the U.S. dollar-linked stablecoin AirUSD.
According to SDF, 165,000 consumers and businesses used Airtm’s services in 2021, and its platform processed more than 2.5 million transactions worth more than $200 million.
In August 2020, Venezuelan authorities restricted access to Airtm. The opposition planned to distribute through the exchange $18 million seized from incumbent President Nicolas Maduro to healthcare workers.
