BOGOTÁ, Colombia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Minteo, a Latin American-based NFT marketplace with a mission to introduce Web3 to the region, today announced the closing of its $4.3 million seed round. Investors that participated in the round include Fabric Ventures, Dune Ventures, CMT Digital, OpenSea Ventures, Impatient VC, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, SevenX Ventures, FJ Labs, Big Brain Holdings, G20 Ventures, Zero Knowledge, Alliance DAO, AngelDAO, and several prominent angel investors.
Founded by a seasoned team with a strong track record in the technology space and extensive experience in creating digital marketplaces, Minteo will enable Latin American-based artists, creators, collectors, gamers, brands and other community members to buy, sell and trade digital art, collectibles, phygitals, and other digital assets to a global market. Minteo aims to bring the $25B NFT market (DappRadar) to Latin America – a region that has yet to experience widespread NFT adoption despite its robust creator economy and bullishness towards the digital asset ecosystem – through its unique, user-friendly platform which features local payment methods.
Minteo’s leadership includes Santiago Rodriguez and Javier Lozano, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer, respectively, who co-founded Wompi, a leading payment processor that was sold to Bancolombia in 2021. They are joined by William Duran and Sebastian Salazar, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, who each bring over a decade of experience leading go-to-market operations for fast-growing B2B and B2C companies across the US and Latin America, including EasyTaxi, a leading taxi hailing app that was acquired by Cabify.
According to Santiago Rodriguez, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Minteo wants to onboard millions of users to web3 via NFTs, and believes they can have more mainstream and faster adoption than fungible tokens.
“Latin Americans love art, music, dancing, and socializing. This is engrained in the fabric of our community,” said Rodriguez. “Through Minteo’s NFT platform, Latin Americans will now be able to celebrate these incredible aspects of our culture. We truly believe that the region is ready for increased Web3 adoption, and the net effect it will have for many creators and communities will be life-changing.”
Latin America is considered by many experts to have the most robust creator economy on the planet, with buyers having enormous trust in creators and influencers. Mexico, Colombia and Brazil rank within the top 5 countries where people trust creators the most alongside China and India. In fact, 1 out of 3 internet users in the region follow an influencer, and in Brazil over 40% of people report having purchased a product because a creator recommended it.
“There is significant demand from the Latin American community for an NFT marketplace that suits local creator needs and that integrates local payment methods. To amplify NFT adoption in the region, we need to leapfrog fungible tokens by offering integrated fiat on-ramps,” said Javier Lozano, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Minteo. “Minteo’s focus on truly empowering creators, collectors, and other users – combined with its simple, easily navigable interface – will lower the barrier for entry for Latin Americans to NFTs and move us closer to a future of frictionless, true digital ownership on a global scale.”
“We believe Minteo is on an exciting growth trajectory, led by a strong management team of highly experienced operators and visionaries and a unique strategy to bring Web3 to a Latin American community that is eager to gain exposure to Web3,” said Sam Hallene, Investor at CMT Digital. “We are thrilled to support the Minteo team as they deliver a much-needed product to the fast-growing Latin American marketplace.”
“As NFT offerings verticalize and regionalize, Minteo has a great opportunity to become the leading marketplace in LATAM, and potentially beyond,” said Imran Khan, Partner at Alliance DAO, a leading Web3 accelerator and Minteo’s first investor. “In 6 months, this team has gone from an idea on a laptop to closing a seed round in a difficult market and building a complex product. I’m excited for what they can build over the next couple of years - and it is also a testament to our work accelerating early-stage companies.”
About Minteo
Minteo, Inc. is a NFT marketplace focused on introducing Latin American consumers and businesses to Web3. Backed by top Web3 investors, Minteo offers an easy-to-use mobile app that makes buying, selling and trading digital assets simple by offering a built-in self-custodied wallet, the option to pay using local payment methods, and a marketplace with local content.
