Bitso

Bitso is a Mexico City-based cryptocurrency exchange and financial services platform founded in 2014, operating as Bitso, S.A.P.I. de C.V. Its core product is a mobile application through which users buy, sell and hold digital assets — the company's website cites more than 100 tradable assets while its Google Play listing cites more than 150, including bitcoin, ether, XRP, solana, dogecoin and stablecoins — and, more recently, more than 5,000 global stocks and ETFs within the same app.

Beyond trading, Bitso offers a yield product that pays weekly earnings on balances held in assets such as USDC, USDT, ETH, DOT, ATOM and SOL without lock-up periods, and cross-border transfer functionality described as sending globally and receiving locally. Two additional surfaces are marketed alongside the retail app: Bitso Alpha, a web-based platform for advanced traders, and Bitso Business, aimed at companies moving money internationally. The company also promotes onchain.cc, a separate self-custody platform it built that offers over 300 perpetual markets and is operated by Nvio Pagos El Salvador, subject to jurisdictional restrictions.

Bitso's operations are anchored in Latin America. Sources describe a user base concentrated in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, a Distributed Ledger Technology license from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, and local fiat rails such as SPEI deposits and withdrawals in Mexico. Reported scale figures vary by source and date: an older profile cites 1 million users and $1 billion in remittances processed, a 2025 third-party article cites more than 5 million users across over 15 countries, and the current Google Play listing cites more than 9 million users and 1,900 business clients.

Founding story

Sources agree the company was founded in 2014 but differ on the founding team's composition. A Preqin profile names Jose Pablo Gonzalez and Daniel Vogel as founders. Other sources name three co-founders — Ben Peters (CTO, engineering), Pablo González (business development, later Chairman) and Daniel Vogel (CEO) — with one source stating Vogel joined early rather than at inception. One secondary source describes the founding rationale as building regulated peso-to-crypto rails serving remittance and peso-hedging demand in Mexico, and states Vogel holds a Computer Science and Economics degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Business model

Bitso operates a consumer and business financial platform. Retail users trade cryptocurrencies and, more recently, U.S./global stocks and ETFs through the Bitso mobile app, hold balances in assets such as USDC, USDT, ETH, DOT, ATOM and SOL to receive weekly yield payments with no lock-ups, and send cross-border transfers. A professional trading interface, Bitso Alpha, is offered as a web platform, and Bitso Business serves companies moving money across borders. Bitso also promotes onchain.cc, described as an independent self-custody platform built by Bitso with more than 300 perpetual markets, operated by Nvio Pagos El Salvador. Sources describe a strategic shift over time from retail-first growth toward B2B liquidity and institutional services.

Sources do not detail Bitso's revenue model in full. User reviews on Google Play reference a bid-ask spread on buy and sell prices plus transaction fees on trades and currency conversion between MXN and USD; the company's reply directs users to a published fee schedule at bitso.com/fees. Additional monetization is implied through institutional and business services (Bitso Business) and yield products.

Traction

Reported traction varies by source and vintage. The Google Play listing (updated 2026-08-20) reports 10M+ downloads, a 4.3 rating from 80,300 reviews, more than 9 million users globally and 1,900 business clients. A 2025 third-party article cites more than 5 million users across over 15 countries and states Bitso has processed over $1 billion in transactions with roughly 20% average annual user growth. An older aggregator profile cites 1 million users and $1 billion in remittances processed.

Latest developments

Recent website material describes a redesigned Bitso app, the addition of more than 5,000 international stocks and ETFs alongside crypto, and the launch of onchain.cc, a self-custody platform with over 300 perpetual markets operated by Nvio Pagos El Salvador. The Google Play listing, updated 2026-08-20, cites more than 9 million users globally and 1,900 business clients. Secondary sources indicate the company remained private through 2025-2026, held by founders, employees and institutional investors, with secondary-market trades implying late-stage growth valuations.