If you're into the buzzing world of blockchain and crypto, especially on platforms like Base, you've got to check out this recent thread from Almond, the Country Lead for Base in Mexico. She shared a casual chat with Lalo Cripto, co-founder of BandoCool, right outside the Founder Haus during the Base Brasil Founder House program. It's all about gearing up for EF Devcon, one of the biggest events in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Base, for those new to it, is a layer-2 scaling solution built on Ethereum by Coinbase. It's designed to make transactions faster and cheaper, which has made it a hot spot for everything from DeFi apps to meme tokens. The Founder House is an accelerator program helping builders from Latin America refine their projects, pitch to investors, and scale up.

In the video, Almond catches up with Lalo, who's the only Mexican participant in this Brazil-based cohort. He's practicing his pitch for BandoCool, a fintech project that's all about letting users spend crypto directly at checkouts without touching fiat currency. Think seamless payments in over 100 countries and thousands of businesses, powered entirely by onchain tech.

Lalo shares how the program has been a game-changer. The standout part? One-on-one sessions with mentors from Base and beyond. He got to share his deck, get feedback, and fine-tune his approach to raising capital. "Sitting down with them for half an hour, telling what we're looking at, what you suggest—this kind of mentoring has been the best," he says.

When asked how Base can support more Latin American and Spanish-speaking founders, Lalo points to capital raising, deck building, and investor intros. It's about improving the ecosystem and showing that builders from the region can disrupt the space. BandoCool aims to do just that by creating financial products powered by Web3, processing volumes directly through Base's infrastructure.

The thread also teases Lalo's Demo Day pitch, where he showcased BandoCool's metrics—like handling over $1 million in volume. It's exciting to see cross-border collaboration between Mexico and Brazil, with Base at the center.

This kind of story highlights why Base is exploding in popularity, especially in emerging markets. For meme token enthusiasts, tools like BandoCool could make holding and spending your favorite coins way easier—no more converting to fiat just to buy coffee.

If you want the full vibe, head over to the original thread on X. What's your take on Latin America's role in the next wave of crypto innovation? Drop your thoughts below!