What Lemon does

Lemon is an Argentina-based cryptocurrency exchange and fintech platform serving unbanked and underbanked consumers in Latin America, primarily in Argentina and Peru, with 5 million users as of late 2025. Its core offering is a mobile crypto trading platform that supports Bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokenized assets including SpaceX CEDEARs, integrated with Visa debit and credit card services for fiat spending. The company's flagship innovation is Argentina's first Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card, which lets users lock 0.01 BTC (~$900–$960) as collateral to access a 1 million Argentine peso credit line without liquidating their crypto holdings, addressing the unmet credit needs of consumers excluded from traditional banking amid 211% annual inflation and lingering distrust of the post-2001 Argentine financial system.

Underlying the product suite is a crypto exchange architecture with stablecoin integration, tokenized asset capabilities, and a Pix integration for cross-border fiat-to-crypto onramp activity from Brazil. Lemon makes money primarily through trading transaction fees on its exchange and card-related revenue streams (interchange and credit spread) from its Visa debit and Bitcoin-backed credit card products; no public pricing schedule is disclosed. The company has additionally integrated Aave's decentralized lending protocol to offer stablecoin yield products, enabling users to earn dollar-denominated returns without direct blockchain interaction. Go-to-market is mobile-first and product-led, relying on platform virality (e.g., the SpaceX CEDEAR launch drove record-breaking daily user activity), earned media in major Argentine publications, and a stated plan to double its user base to 10 million within 12 months while expanding into Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile, funded in part by a $20 million Series B led by F-Prime and ParaFi.

Name

Lemon

Legal name

Lemon

Website

https://lemon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lemon is an Argentina-based crypto exchange and fintech platform serving unbanked Latin American consumers with a mobile crypto trading app, Visa debit and Bitcoin-backed credit cards, and stablecoin yield products, operating across Argentina and Peru with expansion planned into Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cryptocurrency Exchange

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (52221), Credit Card Issuing (522210)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Finance Services (6199), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro primary industry

Crypto Card Issuing & Card Programs (Debit/Credit/Prepaid) (FSADAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tokenized Bank Deposit & Commercial Bank Money Issuers (FSADADAB), Prepaid Card Program Managers & Issuers (BIN Sponsors) (FSAMANAK), Cards & Issuing Management (Debit/Prepaid/Credit, Program Management) (FSAGAAAE)

Keywords

• Cryptocurrency exchange
• Bitcoin backed credit
• Crypto trading platform
• Stablecoin savings
• Latin american fintech

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Crypto Trading Transaction Fees: Revenue generated from cryptocurrency trading transactions on the platform, including spot trading of Bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokenized assets.
2. Card Services: Revenue from Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card and Visa debit card services offered to users.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Lemon operates a mobile-first cryptocurrency exchange and fintech platform serving Latin American consumers, offering trading of Bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokenized assets, a Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card that uses BTC as collateral for peso-denominated credit lines, Visa debit card services for spending crypto balances, and stablecoin-based dollar-denominated savings and yield products powered by DeFi lending protocols.

Product overview

Lemon operates as an Argentina-based crypto fintech platform offering a unified ecosystem of cryptocurrency trading services, a Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card, and stablecoin-based financial products. The core platform enables crypto trading while the Visa cards provide fiat spending capabilities, and stablecoin yield products allow users to earn returns on dollar-denominated assets. The company serves millions of users across Argentina and Peru with expansion planned to Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lemon Crypto Trading Platform Mobile-first cryptocurrency exchange platform enabling users in Argentina and Peru to buy, sell, and trade Bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokenized assets such as SpaceX CEDEARs, with growth driven by product-led virality and record-breaking daily trading activity during major asset launches.
• Bitcoin-Backed Visa Credit Card Argentina's first Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card that allows users to access peso-denominated credit using Bitcoin as collateral without liquidating their crypto holdings. Users lock 0.01 BTC as collateral to receive an initial credit limit of 1 million Argentine pesos, targeting unbanked Argentines who lack traditional bank accounts or credit history.
• Visa Debit Card Services Visa debit card services integrated with the Lemon platform, allowing users to spend their cryptocurrency balances directly for everyday transactions in Argentina and Peru.
• Stablecoin Savings and Yield Products Dollar-denominated savings and yield products powered by stablecoins, enabling users to earn returns without managing blockchain complexity directly. Delivered through Lemon's integration of Aave's decentralized lending protocol into its consumer app for users in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.

Quantifiable outcome

• 220% growth in stablecoin holdings among Argentine users
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• AavecoreTechnology or Integration · 11 May 2026Aave partnered with Lemon and other Latin American fintechs to integrate its decentralized lending protocol into consumer apps, enabling users to earn returns on stablecoins without blockchain complexity.
• VisaflagshipTechnology or Integration · 15 January 2026Visa issued the Bitcoin-backed credit card through Lemon's platform, enabling users to lock Bitcoin as collateral for peso-denominated credit. Lemon offers both Visa credit and debit cards.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Crypto.com: Global crypto exchange with a Visa card program and broad consumer crypto services. Comparable to Lemon on the Visa card product and crypto trading functionality, but operating at a much larger global scale and competing for the same LatAm consumer.
• Binance: World's largest crypto exchange with deep LatAm presence through localized payment rails (including Pix) and Binance Card. Competes directly with Lemon for Argentine, Brazilian, and Mexican crypto traders.

Direct peers

• Mercado Bitcoin: Brazil's largest cryptocurrency exchange, directly comparable to Lemon as a LatAm-focused crypto trading platform serving high-inflation economies with BRL-denominated onramps and tokenized products.
• Ripio: Argentine-origin crypto exchange and fintech offering trading, OTC, lending, and card products. Closely comparable to Lemon on geography, customer profile (Argentine unbanked/underbanked), and product breadth.
• Bitso: Mexico-headquartered crypto exchange with strong Argentina and Brazil operations. Comparable to Lemon in serving unbanked LatAm users with peso-denominated trading, stablecoins, and remittance use cases.
• Buenbit: Argentina- and Peru-focused crypto fintech offering dollar stablecoin savings and yield products. Direct competitor to Lemon's stablecoin and crypto savings offerings in the same primary geographies.
• Belo: Argentine crypto platform offering dollar stablecoin savings, yield, and on/off ramps for ARS users. Direct peer in serving inflation-hedging Argentines with mobile-first crypto products.

Others

• Aave: Decentralized lending protocol that Lemon has integrated to offer stablecoin yield. Peer in the sense of underlying DeFi infrastructure partner, and a strategic adjacency for Lemon's stablecoin savings product line.

Emerging players

• Nexo: Crypto-backed lending and card platform. Closely comparable to Lemon's BTC-collateralized credit product (instant crypto-backed credit lines and a Visa card) but operating globally rather than LatAm-focused.

Regional players

• Bitfarms: Although primarily a Bitcoin miner, Bitfarms has operations in Argentina and represents the broader LatAm crypto ecosystem in which Lemon participates; comparable in regional crypto infrastructure exposure though not directly competitive in consumer products.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lemonwallet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lemon