Neobank Yopaki Aims To Make Every Mexican A Bitcoiner
Company Name: Yopaki
Founders: Francisco Chavarria (CEO) and Carlos Chida (CTO)
Date Founded: March 2023
Location of Headquarters: Austin, TX
Number of Employees: Four full time; one part time
Website: https://www.yopaki.com/
Public or Private? Private
In 2021, Francisco Chavarria stood in the audience at Bitcoin 2021 and watched as Strike CEO Jack Mallers passionately delivered his now famous keynote speech during which he revealed that El Salvador planned to make bitcoin legal tender.
That moment sparked something within Chavarria.
“It was unlike anything I’d experienced in my professional career,” Chavarria told Bitcoin Magazine.
“I knew I had to do something in the Bitcoin space after that. It was the seed,” he added.
First-forward ahead two years, and Chavarria found himself putting his career as a Software as a Service (SaaS) consultant on hold to draw up the blueprints for Yopaki, a neobank and investment app with a Bitcoin-focus, aimed at serving the people of his home country, Mexico. (Users outside of Mexico can also use Yopaki’s non-custodial Lighting wallet.)
Since then, he and his co-founder, Carlos Chida, have been hard at work bringing Yopaki to life, including taking part in Wolf’s Bitcoin Accelerator program in efforts to make Yopaki as cutting-edge and dynamic as possible.
But before getting to that part of the story, let’s start with the cultural origin of the platform’s name.
What’s In A Name?
“The name Yopaki comes from the ancient language Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztecs,” explained Chavarria.
“The Aztecs lived in the center region of what today is Mexico, and they’re the ones responsible for some of the biggest pyramids in all of Latin America. The center of this historical place is called Teotihuacán, ‘the place of the gods,’” he added.
“The name itself, if I were to translate it into English, most closely means “the pursuit of happiness.’”
Judging by the name alone, it’s clear that Chavarria views Yopaki as more than just another business endeavor — he wants it to have a profound impact on those who use it.
And he’ll need the app to have such an impact if he and his team are to succeed in their mission: to turn every Mexican into a Bitcoiner.
2025 Dream Predictions for Bitcoin in Mexico 🇲🇽😶🌫️
1. Bitcoin adoption in Mexico surges.
2. Mexican Bitcoin startups attract global investors. With El Salvador’s influence, Mexico becomes the Latin American leader for Bitcoin innovation.
3. Peso-Bitcoin integration deepens.…
— Francisco Chavarria (@FranciscoBTC) December 31, 2024
Bitcoin In The Mexican Context
When Bitcoin is brought up in the context of Latin America and other developing regions, it’s often referenced as a tool to “bank the unbanked.”
However, Mexico’s banking system is “quite advanced,” according to Chavarria.
“The infrastructure has been built for people to have access to banking,” he explained.
“It may not be the same banking that we…
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