Trace Finance wins Grand Prix at 2026 Money Awards

Trace Finance has won the Grand Prix at the 2026 Money Awards, the programme's top honour.

It also received the Growth Stage Startup award in the Payments & Commerce category and was recognised on Money20/20 USA's Exchange Stage before an audience of more than 1,600 industry executives.

The award places Trace among a small group of Grand Prix recipients, alongside Privy, a Stripe company, and bolttech. A 41-member jury selected the winners, with judges drawn from financial groups including J.P. Morgan, Citi, ING, U.S. Bank and Visa's Featurespace.

Trace operates in cross-border payments and stablecoin settlement, focusing on regulated banking infrastructure for institutional clients. It says it has processed more than USD $15 billion in institutional cross-border volume.

Its model combines stablecoin settlement with local banking connectivity, foreign exchange handling and compliance operations in the markets where funds are received and paid out. Trace first built that infrastructure in Brazil, which it described as one of the more complex markets for foreign exchange and compliance requirements.

According to Trace, it now operates under its own licences in the US and Brazil and works with partner banks in Mexico, Colombia, Europe and Asia. It also says it is the main provider for the top four global payment providers operating in Latin America, including dLocal.

Regulatory focus

The recognition comes as regulation of digital assets and cross-border transfers becomes a bigger issue for payment groups and financial institutions. In Brazil, virtual asset cross-border flows are now classified as foreign exchange operations, bringing them more directly within established regulatory rules.

That shift has increased the importance of business models built around licensed entities and local banking arrangements, rather than structures outside traditional foreign exchange frameworks. Trace says it does not use fund-based structures that some market participants have used to route stablecoin flows outside foreign exchange rules.

The company linked the award to that approach.

"Stablecoins alone do not solve cross-border payments. Stablecoins plus regulated local bank infrastructure does," said Bernardo Brites, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Trace Finance. "We chose to build inside the regulatory perimeter from day one, market by market and bank by bank, because that's what institutions moving real volume need. Being recognized with the Grand Prix on Money20/20's biggest stage tells us the industry sees regulation the way we do: as infrastructure, not friction. This belongs to our team and to the partners who trust us with their flows every day."

Funding backdrop

The award follows a period of fundraising for the company. Trace raised USD $32 million in a Series A round led by CoinFund, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Capital, Valor Capital, Paxos, HOF Capital and others.

That financing followed an earlier seed round led by HOF Capital, with backing from investors including Circle Ventures and Mantis VC. The investor list also includes Polymorphic, Chainlink Labs, SNZ Capital, Kadan Capital, Clocktower, FJ Labs and Animoca Brands.

Trace says the latest funding is being used to expand its work with large global enterprises and deepen its foreign exchange, banking connectivity, compliance and stablecoin settlement operations. It is also extending its regulated footprint across Latin America, the US and Asia-Pacific.

Market role

Trace's business sits where traditional payment infrastructure meets stablecoin-based settlement. While digital dollars can move quickly across blockchain networks, businesses moving money across borders still need access to local payment rails, regulated onshore entities, banking partners and compliance checks.

That operational layer has become increasingly important as more institutions test or adopt stablecoins for treasury and payments use cases while remaining subject to anti-money laundering rules, foreign exchange controls and domestic licensing requirements. Companies offering that regulated link between crypto-based settlement and local financial systems are trying to fill a gap that has limited wider institutional use.

Trace says its platform combines local payment rails, Pix connectivity in Brazil, compliance operations, banking infrastructure and stablecoin-enabled settlement. Its client base includes enterprises, fintechs, exchanges, payment companies and global platforms that need to move money through more complex markets.

The company's claim of more than USD $15 billion in institutional cross-border volume offers a measure of how much activity has already moved through this model.