The archive · Money & Fintech · Product decision · 2025-2026
Ruvo bets stablecoins plus Pix can replace SWIFT for Brazil-US money; $4.6M seed
Ex-Uber exec Alec Howard's São Paulo fintech (YC S25, formerly Cacao) lets Brazilians receive dollars via USDT and settle into reais through Pix; US$4.6M seed.
Ruvo
What the business is
A US-dollar account for Brazilians that receives USD and USDT, converts to reais via Pix, offers a Visa card, and pays yield on dollar stablecoins.
Starting capital：US$4.6M seed led by 1confirmation, with Coinbase Ventures, Rebel Fund, Blast, Neer Ventures, First Check Ventures and Mission Street Capital plus fintech/Web3 angels (announced Jan-Feb 2026); backed by Y Combinator.
How it started
Alec Howard, who joined Uber's Brazil team in 2016 to adapt the app to local payments, moved from New York to São Paulo in January 2025 to test the idea after seeing Mexican and Argentine fintechs use stablecoins for expat transfers. With CTO Mike Mason and co-founder Carlos he started building in April 2025, ran early transfers (his first payment went to a Brazilian dentist), and pitched Y Combinator in June 2025.
What happened
Ruvo (launched as Cacao, later renamed) entered YC's Summer 2025 batch, built one wallet connecting Pix, USDT and Visa, and closed a US$4.6M seed led by 1confirmation with Coinbase Ventures and Rebel Fund. Pricing is 0.9% on USD deposits and Pix withdrawals and 1% on card use (lower for businesses), crypto-to-crypto is free, and USDT balances earn up to ~6% a year. The founders point to ~30M Brazilians moving ~US$146-150B a year across borders.
No ending yet — it is still running.
Background
Ruvo is a São Paulo fintech (YC Summer 2025, formerly Cacao) building one US-dollar account for Brazilians: receive USD or USDT, hold it in a stablecoin wallet, settle into reais via Pix in minutes, spend with a Visa Platinum card, and earn yield on dollars. Co-founder and CEO Alec Howard is an ex-Uber manager who worked on adapting Uber to Brazil's payments system in 2016; CTO Mike Mason and co-founder Carlos round out the team.
The bet is that Brazil-US money movement is broken in a way worth attacking directly: transfers over SWIFT take one to three business days, carry hidden FX fees, and force people to juggle multiple apps for transfers, crypto, FX and cards. Ruvo's answer is stablecoin rails - crypto-to-crypto is free, USD deposits cost 0.9%, Pix withdrawals 0.9% and card use 1% (lower for businesses) - so a payment lands like a Pix instead of a wire. The company cites ~30M Brazilians moving ~US$146-150B a year across borders.
Ruvo started in January 2025, built the first version from April, ran early transfers, and entered Y Combinator's Summer 2025 batch in June. In early 2026 it closed a US$4.6M seed led by 1confirmation with Coinbase Ventures, Rebel Fund, Blast, Neer Ventures, First Check Ventures and Mission Street Capital, and Brazil Journal profiled the company as an ex-Uber fintech making 'a Pix between Brazil and the US'. The product is live for individuals and businesses.
What has to be true
- The wedge is already-paid customers: freelancers, remote workers and remittance recipients feel SWIFT's delay and hidden FX on every payment, so Ruvo sells against known pain.
- Stablecoin settlement into Pix removes days of float and intermediaries, turning a cross-border transfer into a domestic-speed payment - the feature incumbents can't copy quickly.
- Bundling receive, hold, spend and yield in one wallet gives Ruvo revenue per customer beyond the transfer fee and raises switching costs versus point solutions.
- YC's network and 1confirmation's crypto-native investors gave a regulatory-sensitive payments product both legitimacy and distribution from day one.
What can be applied
Attack the rails, not the habit: SWIFT already loses Brazil-US transfers on speed and price, so Ruvo only had to make the alternative one app - stablecoin settlement into Pix - not teach new behavior.
Aftermath
As of February 2026 Ruvo is live in Brazil with an 11-person team in São Paulo, backed by Y Combinator and a US$4.6M seed from 1confirmation, Coinbase Ventures and others. The app connects Pix, stablecoins (USDT), ACH/wire and a Visa card, serving both individuals (CPF) and businesses (CNPJ). The founders plan dollar-yield products for 2026 and are watching two regulatory tracks: Brazil's central bank rules for stablecoin payments and the possible end of the IOF exemption on stablecoin transfers. The long game is making money between Brazil and the US move as easily as a Pix.
Sources
- Ruvo, a fintech do ex-Uber que facilita um 'Pix' entre Brasil e EUA
- Ruvo Raises $4.6M to Power Crypto-Pix Remittances Between Brazil and the U.S.
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