BeInCrypto Brasil独家 interviewed Guilherme Bettanin, responsible for Coinbase in Latin America.
The executive from the largest American exchange revealed plans for expanding the Base ecosystem — a layer 2 blockchain — in Brazil and strategies to connect local projects with global acceleration and funding opportunities. Check it out.
Developers in focus at Coinbase
Aline Fernandes (BeInCrypto): Guilherme, you've been in charge of Coinbase's Country Lead role in Brazil for six months and now across all of Latin America. What are your strategic priorities for the first 12 months, in this first year of operation here?
Guilherme Bettanin: I would prioritize three fronts. The first two I have been working a lot on in the last six months. The first is to bring new developers and new projects to our blockchain.
This involves a very focused effort on education, knowledge, and support for new startups to go from zero to one, participating in hackathons and finding support, both in the business and technical aspects.
We connect these people and teams in our global system to support startups and individual contributors and help the community create things together and start projects on Base.
The second front is helping teams go from one (01) to ten. An example was the Base Founder House in Florianópolis, in November 2025.
We brought 15 startups from Latin America to Brazil to connect with venture capital funds, fundraising mentors, and growth mentors in the crypto area. These are startups that already had functioning products on mainnet, with some traction, revenue, and operations running.
The idea was to create an environment where founders could have quality time with people who are usually very hard to access without pressure, in conversations of 30 minutes, one hour, up to two hours. We are already seeing an impact on the strategy and traction of several teams that participated.
And the third front, which gains more weight in the next six months, is a greater focus on retail. It is about bringing end users into the ecosystem, to Base, to the Base App, and to the applications that are already on Base. We want to help these projects penetrate the Brazilian market even further, points out Guilherme.
Global calendar in Brazil and Latin America
AF: In practice, what does it mean to 'foster the Base ecosystem' in Brazil? How does this translate into actions? And, in the case of Founder House, why Florianópolis?
Guilherme Bettanin: Regarding our presence in Brazil, it is not just Florianópolis. We created a network of ambassadors and contributors around Brazil, operating in Florianópolis, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and other states. The idea is to be present in different hubs.
We are also always at the main crypto events in the country and traditional technology events. I, for example, went to the E-Commerce Forum to talk about crypto. It was an environment with few people from the sector, but with tens of thousands of people wanting to learn; exemplifies the Coinbase executive.
The Founder House in Florianópolis happened for two reasons. The first was logistics. It took place the week before Devconnect, and we wanted to create an itinerary heading towards Buenos Aires, Argentina. There was a gap between Ethereum Week and Devconnect, and in that week, Ethereum Floripa was happening, which was not a traditional conference, but almost a builders' retreat. This fit perfectly.
The second reason is that Florianópolis has a large crypto community and there were already initiatives happening there. I am from Florianópolis and have worked on strengthening the local ecosystem. In 2022, I helped to found and foster one of the city's first physical crypto hubs, Hub 9.3, and we received over 150 builders that year.
So, combining local energy with this international calendar made a lot of sense. Moreover, we wanted to take founders out of the 'hurricane' of large events and bring them to a more immersive place that favors deep conversations and real connections.
Latin America has been neglected
AF: You have already said that you are convinced that Base is the ideal ecosystem for Brazilian builders. What makes Brazil a strategic market for Base?
Guilherme Bettanin: Brazil is strategic for various reasons. First, I say this also from my experience as a founder.
I know how large global ecosystems have neglected Latin America and Brazil for a long time. For a Latin developer, it is much harder to gain global attention, be taken seriously, and showcase talent and capacity to compete with players from other regions. There is a stigma about Latin America that does not correspond to reality.
We have a huge talent density. There are very hard-working people with a strong desire to build and succeed. We (Brazil) have a greater need. We are a people that is always building in search of innovation!
And, in my view, there is no other ecosystem that can help founders with distribution like Base. The platform offers support for startups, global connection, credibility, and access to major players, partly because it is linked to Coinbase. This opens doors for founders here who historically had difficulty accessing.
In crypto since 2017, Guilherme also revealed that he went through all the stages of a builder who didn't even have money to buy a ticket to go to hackathons to assembling a team of 20 people and building a protocol that grew significantly to over 100,000 users.
In addition, internally, there is a real focus on Latin America. This is not just talk. There is a strong belief that globally relevant protocols can come from here, and this guides the initiatives we have been putting in place.
Attitude to add to Base
AF: And, in the profile of the Brazilian developer, what aligns most with Base's vision?
Guilherme Bettanin: I prefer to use 'builders' instead of 'developers' because when we only talk about developers, it seems to exclude non-technical builders, like those who work with community, events, marketing, and that is essential for the ecosystem.
What makes a builder stand out is 'being Base' in terms of attitude. It is wanting to add, contribute positively, have adaptability, understand what is happening in the market, and adjust the solution accordingly. It is also being willing to listen, having humility, wanting to learn, and build together. We seek people who truly want to be helped because we can help these talents succeed.
What also catches my attention is seeing developers who understand the ecosystem, seize opportunities, and connect strategies to grow on Base. This way, they can leverage the available opportunities, connecting points, protocols, and strategies to grow more by being with us.
Grants and global acceleration programs can offer up to 5 ETH
AF: Now talking about acceleration, distribution, and funding, what support paths are Coinbase and Base offering to founders and builders? How does the 'ladder' of support work?
Guilherme Bettanin: We have a long way to support. It starts in the experimentation phase. In this phase, there are grants for builders. The grant program can offer from 1 to 5 ETH, which today is about US$ 15,000. It is aimed at smaller teams that need structure to go from zero. The grant depends on traction, maturity, and what has already been built.
In addition, we hold meetups to connect these teams with important people in the ecosystem and offer 'builder hours' with venture capital funds and top investors for feedback and guidance. Along with that, hackathons and initiatives that help the project structure itself come in.
When the experiment becomes a project, it can enter Base Batches, our global incubation and acceleration program. There are two tracks: the builders' track, which works like a hackathon with a building period and demonstration of what was delivered, and the startup track, where we evaluate progress and connect directly with funds and growth mentors.
In Base Batches, we have already distributed up to US$ 1 million in prizes per edition. We have done two editions, and the trend is to continue. Later, when the project is more structured and with more traction, case-by-case incentives come in. This way, we can connect with Coinbase Ventures, which is a separate team from Base, and also with the best VCs in the world in crypto.
We also offer a newsletter for investors, direct connection, and support in growth and distribution strategy, including promotion on Base's official channels, such as build on Base and regional pages like Base Brazil.
The logic is simple: a small grant alone does not solve it. A founder who wants success needs larger capital, fundraising support, mentorship, and distribution. This is what makes the project come, stay, and grow on Base.
Brazil will have a global dashboard
AF: For those who want to start, what are the fastest paths for a Brazilian builder to enter the ecosystem? Is there a centralized resource hub?
Guilherme Bettanin: Yes. We are creating pages on Notion for each country, and this is becoming a global initiative.
In Brazil, there is a dashboard where resources are gathered for Brazilian builders to get started on Base: from participating in hackathons, seeking support and funding, to growth paths. There you understand where to go, whether you need to fill out a form, talk directly to me, or with an ambassador.
In addition, we have Discord. There is a Brazilian server and a global server. The global one concentrates technical support, and we usually respond quickly, typically on the same day.
AF: Do you believe we will see more Brazilian startups migrating to Base or new native projects emerging from local initiatives?
Guilherme Bettanin: Both. From my experience over the last six or seven months, I have seen many startups migrating to Base from other ecosystems, abandoning one ecosystem and focusing entirely on Base due to growth and future plans. I also see many multi-chain projects realizing that they cannot stay out of Base and increasing their dedication to the ecosystem.
And, at the same time, new projects are emerging that are born on Base, natively, from the start, influenced by what we have been doing.
An interesting example of a case that, I won't mention the ecosystem, but it was a project that was in another ecosystem with a stagnant X value in TVL for six months. In three months, within Base, it went to 10x while maintaining that other ecosystem.
AF: To close, looking at adoption and the maturity of the Brazilian market, how do you see Brazil's role in Web3 in Latin America, especially with the most recent regulations?
Guilherme Bettanin: I am not a regulation specialist, but in terms of adoption and regional role, I see Brazil as a leader in Latin America. Brazil leads the advancement in regulation, and clarity has been increasing. As an American company, Coinbase works closely with regulators, seeking this dialogue.
The article 'Large global ecosystems have neglected Latin America,' says a Coinbase executive was first seen on BeInCrypto Brazil.