Latin American telecom operator VIVA has connected to the settlement network Iris based on Avalanche, becoming the first operator to go live officially. The company will use the US dollar-stabilized coin USDi to process some transaction settlements and hold a portion of its qualified operating reserves in US dollars, rather than relying solely on its local currency.
This arrangement does not require VIVA to replace the existing telecommunications systems. The design focus of Iris is to integrate the operators' existing identity, billing, and distribution systems with on-chain financial services, allowing payments, settlements, and some back-office fund management to operate on top of the existing infrastructure.
VIVA to go live first
VIVA has been operating in Bolivia for over 25 years and has recently expanded into Mexico as well. According to reports, VIVA currently uses the US dollar stablecoin USDi issued by Agora through Iris. This stablecoin is mainly used in two scenarios: one is for transaction settlement, and the other is for holding a portion of qualified operational reserves.
For markets with significant fluctuations in the local currency, this approach is even more direct in its significance. In their daily operations, companies can choose to retain a portion of their funds in the form of US dollar-stabilized tokens, thereby reducing the impact of local currency fluctuations on settlements and reserves.
Iris Aims at Telecom Financial Networks
Iris is led by former IBM Blockchain Ventures partner Jules Miller, and its focus is on providing financial networks for telecommunications operators. The core approach is not to rebuild the operators' systems, but to extend their existing customer relationships, real-name identification, billing capabilities, and offline distribution networks to include payment and other financial services.
Iris runs on a dedicated Avalanche Layer 1, therefore it is possible to set its own settlement, operational, and compliance requirements. Ava Labs Chief Commercial Officer John Nahas stated that in emerging markets such as Bolivia, mobile operators often serve not only as providers of communication services but also play a more significant role as gateways for payment and digital services, which is quite different from the American market.
Start expanding from emerging markets such as Latin America first.
Iris's current focus on expansion is on Latin America, and it may further enter some markets in Africa and Asia. Reports quote Nahas as saying that in these regions, operators usually have stronger customer reach, real-name information, and channel capabilities, which are precisely the foundations that many financial applications require to establish at a high cost.
Upon its launch, Iris also received a commitment of $43 million in funding support from Balesia Group. This institution is a family office with telecommunications operations in the Americas. Iris cites McKinsey data stating that between 2012 and 2025, global mobile data traffic grew at an average annual rate of over 50%, while the annual growth in service revenues for operators was less than 1%. This is one of the reasons why they are attempting to explore new sources of revenue for operators.
VIVA is also considered an early test case for this model. Nahas indicates that a super-app product used by VIVA managed to reduce the churn rate of its prepaid mobile users by 33% and increase the lifetime value of users by 35%. Iris is currently in contact with more telecom operators, hoping to continue expanding its network and service range.
Additional information:The report also mentioned that Avalanche has recently undertaken other enterprise-level applications, including South Korea's Pohang Group moving its trade receivables onto the blockchain, as well as Hyundai Motor advancing a stablecoin-based internal remittance system between entities in the United States and Mexico.
