How BlackOpal's GemStone Platform Is Transforming Brazilian Credit Card Receivables Into a 13% Yield Asset

Brazil’s merchants face a critical cash flow problem: when customers use credit cards with installment payment options—which account for 70% of all credit card transactions in the country—merchants must wait months to receive their full payment. This creates a liquidity crunch for a market worth roughly $100 billion, forcing businesses to either operate with constrained working capital or resort to expensive alternatives.

BlackOpal, an onchain asset management and payments platform, has launched GemStone, a solution designed to address this structural inefficiency by allowing merchants to instantly monetize their credit card receivables. The platform recently went live, backed by a $200 million investment commitment from Mars Capital Advisors over three years. By tokenizing these receivables on the Plume Network blockchain, GemStone enables institutional investors worldwide to purchase the debt at a discount while earning a 13% annualized yield (USD-denominated and FX-hedged).

The Structural Problem: Timing Mismatch in Emerging Markets

In Brazil, the credit card payment structure creates a unique challenge. When customers opt for installment plans—paying over up to 12 months rather than immediately—merchants face a significant timing gap. They must deliver goods or services upfront but won’t receive payment until months later. This is particularly problematic for smaller merchants who lack access to traditional credit lines or have limited working capital reserves.

The $100 billion Brazilian credit card receivables market has historically been underserved by institutional capital, leaving merchants with few efficient options to bridge this gap. Traditional factoring solutions carry high costs and limited transparency, while bank credit lines often come with restrictive terms.

GemStone’s Mechanism: True Sale and Blockchain Verification

BlackOpal’s approach leverages a sophisticated structure that combines legal finance innovation with blockchain transparency. The platform purchases receivables at a discount—paying merchants 95 cents on the dollar—while maintaining ownership through Brazil’s Central Bank C3 Registry. This arrangement, known as a “true sale,” is legally recognized and transfers all ownership rights, risks, and rewards to BlackOpal.

The key is that payment collection is guaranteed by Visa and Mastercard’s existing settlement rails. When cardholders make their automatic payments, the funds flow directly to BlackOpal rather than the original merchant. The company then tokenizes these receivables on Plume Network and sells them to institutional buyers globally. Investors benefit from the spread: they purchase tokens at the discounted price but redeem them at full face value when payments arrive, capturing the yield.

This structure eliminates the subjective credit risk that typically plagues emerging market investments. There’s no question of “if” payment arrives—only “when,” since the payment obligation is backed by Visa and Mastercard’s infrastructure. Card issuers absorb any customer defaults, making the token holders’ recovery essentially certain.

Investment Value: 13% Yield in Context

The 13% annualized return offered through GemStone represents a significant opportunity when compared to traditional risk-free benchmarks. The U.S. 10-year Treasury note currently yields around 4.2%, and most developed market fixed income offers similar or lower returns. Emerging market investments typically compensate for currency risk, inflation risk, and default risk—all of which are structurally mitigated in GemStone’s model.

Unlike speculative emerging market assets, GemStone’s yield derives from a transparent, settlement-guaranteed mechanism backed by payment card infrastructure. The USD denomination and FX hedging eliminate currency fluctuation concerns, while the true sale structure and Central Bank registry verification provide legal certainty rarely found in emerging market investments.

Strategic Backing and Market Positioning

Mars Capital Advisors, a Swiss firm managing $2 billion in assets under advisory, anchored the $200 million commitment. The firm specializes in working capital solutions and recognized that Brazilian credit card receivables represent a vastly underutilized asset class. This backing signals institutional confidence in both the market opportunity and BlackOpal’s execution.

Draupnir Capital served as lead adviser on the deal, providing strategic guidance on structuring the investment and building relationships with potential institutional capital sources. Their involvement underscores the convergence between institutional private credit markets and Web3 infrastructure.

Implications for Emerging Market Credit Innovation

GemStone’s launch reflects a broader trend: tokenization is moving beyond government bonds into operational economic assets. Brazil provides particularly fertile ground for this innovation, with an existing real estate tokenization ecosystem and the Central Bank’s DREX digital currency initiative creating regulatory clarity and infrastructure readiness.

For emerging markets broadly, the model demonstrates how blockchain settlement and tokenized assets can solve longstanding liquidity problems without requiring complex credit underwriting or geopolitical risk hedges. By anchoring the solution to established payment rails (Visa and Mastercard), GemStone achieves institutional-grade credibility while unlocking an asset class that traditional finance largely ignored.

BlackOpal’s approach suggests a future where emerging market credit is accessed not through risky sovereign bonds or speculative corporate debt, but through transparent, blockchain-verified cash flows tied to real economic activity. For merchants seeking immediate liquidity and investors seeking yield without excessive risk—both groups underserved by traditional markets—GemStone offers a compelling bridge.