Bolivian telecom VIVA becomes first carrier live on Avalanche-based Iris
VIVA becomes first telecom carrier live on Avalanche-based Iris
Bolivian telecom operator VIVA is the first carrier to go live on Iris, a new network built on Avalanche that helps mobile operators turn their existing customer networks into financial service platforms. The network is designed to let carriers settle transactions and hold dollar reserves without replacing the systems already running their businesses.
VIVA has operated in Bolivia for more than 25 years and recently expanded into Mexico. It is using USDi, a dollar-backed stablecoin, to settle transactions and hold eligible operating reserves in U.S. dollars instead of local currency.
Key details
- VIVA is the first carrier live on Iris, an Avalanche-based financial network for telecom operators.
- Iris received a $43 million commitment from Balesia Group, a family office with telecom businesses across the Americas.
- Carriers can connect their identity, billing and distribution systems to financial services without replacing core infrastructure.
- U.S. Avalanche is the blockchain that powers the Iris network. Stablecoins like USDi are digital tokens designed to track the value of a fiat currency, in this case the U.S. dollar.
Key numbers
- Iris secured $43 million in initial funding from Balesia Group.
- Global mobile data traffic grew more than 50% annually between 2012 and 2025, while operator service revenue increased less than 1% per year, according to McKinsey figures cited by Iris.
- A super-app product used by VIVA reportedly reduced churn among prepaid mobile customers by 33% and increased their lifetime value by 35%, according to John Nahas, Ava Labs' chief business officer.
What the companies say
Jules Miller, CEO of Iris and a former partner at IBM Blockchain Ventures, said carriers can plug their existing systems into the network and settle activity in U.S. dollars. Iris is the financial network for telecom operators, Miller told CoinDesk.
Ryan Alvarez, CEO of VIVA, said in a statement: We've invested heavily in modernizing our network and bringing our customers into the digital economy. Alvarez added that Iris lets VIVA earn new revenue on that investment and grow into a platform, without replacing the systems our business already runs on.
John Nahas, Ava Labs' chief business officer, explained that in emerging markets, mobile carriers play a much bigger role in consumers' financial lives than in the U.S. In the U.S. the operator is like one rail among many, Nahas said. In markets such as Bolivia, the mobile carrier is often the rail that people do everything on.
What is confirmed
- VIVA is live on Iris and is using USDi for transaction settlement and dollar-denominated operating reserves.
- Iris has a $43 million commitment from Balesia Group.
- Miller, Alvarez, and Nahas made the statements attributed to them in reporting by CoinDesk.
- Iris is built on Avalanche and USDi is issued by Agora, a stablecoin infrastructure firm.
What is still unclear
- Whether other telecom carriers will adopt the Iris platform.
- The exact timeline for expansion into Latin America, Africa, and Asia, though Nahas said those regions are the initial focus.
- The reported churn and lifetime value figures have not been independently verified from the source material.
Why this matters for telecom operators
Telecom operators already have something most financial apps spend heavily to build: customers, verified identities, and distribution networks. Iris aims to help carriers capture more of the economics generated by infrastructure they have spent decades building. The model is starting in emerging markets, where mobile operators often serve as the primary financial access point for consumers.
What comes next
Iris expects its initial expansion to focus on Latin America and potentially parts of Africa and Asia, Nahas said. VIVA serves as the first test of whether the model can improve economics for carriers in those markets.