With over three million active users, Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency and payment platform Crypto.com is looking to expand into Latin America. At the end of October 2020, the company announced they were hiring Filomena Ruffa as the new Latin America manager. Ruffa is the former vice president of innovation and strategic partnerships at Visa Latin America. With her former employer, she introduced disruptive technologies into the region. This is exactly what she will do now. In a region where people do not have a plethora of financial instruments available to them, cash has become the dominant method of payment. Although new, cryptocurrencies are quickly gaining traction due to the many issues of the traditional baking system.

Responsible for managing all operations and driving strategic business partnerships for Crypto.com, Ruffa will aim to address these challenges: lack of access to banking; high cost and wait times for remittances; and financial instability, partnered with a lack of trust in government policies. Since cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology offer the possibility of leapfrogging traditional financial services, they are already an alternative many are adopting. According to a study conducted by Chainanalysis, companies in Latin America are responsible for some of the highest volumes in crypto-transactions worldwide.

With a population of over half a billion and a growing crypto ecosystem, Latin America presents itself as a clear destination to expand into. However, it does present difficulties of its own; the continent is composed of over thirty countries, multiple languages, and cultural nuances. Crypto.com is making a strategic decision by hiring an executive with extensive experience in the region. The company also recently launched a Spanish and Portuguese version of the app to overcome language barriers.