Stablecoin-powered fintech platform KAST has secured $80 million in Series A funding as investors place fresh bets on digital-dollar infrastructure designed to move money across borders faster than traditional banking systems.
A Bet on Stablecoins: Fintech Startup KAST Expands Global Crypto Payments Infrastructure
The funding round, announced this week, was co-led by QED Investors and Left Lane Capital, with participation from Peak XV Partners, HSG, and DST Global Partners. The investment values KAST at roughly $600 million and arrives less than 18 months after the company launched its platform.
KAST is building what it describes as a stablecoin-native financial app that lets users store, send, earn, and spend U.S. dollar-backed digital assets globally. Rather than operating as a bank, the company works with licensed financial partners for custody, payments, and compliance while focusing on software and user experience.
The idea is straightforward: make global money movement behave more like the internet — instant, borderless, and available around the clock. KAST connects stablecoin networks such as $USDC and USDT with traditional payment rails, enabling users to hold digital dollars, transfer them worldwide, and spend them locally through Visa debit cards.
Since launching in July 2024, the platform has grown to more than 1 million users and now processes nearly $5 billion in annualized transaction volume, according to company figures. Revenue has also doubled since the end of September 2025, suggesting the stablecoin payment thesis is gaining traction.
Founder and CEO Raagulan Pathy said the funding reflects confidence that stablecoins are evolving beyond crypto trading tools and into real financial infrastructure.
“The latest funding, raised less than 18 months from launch, reflects the confidence of leading investors in the stablecoin thesis and in KAST’s ability to execute it at global scale,” Pathy said.
Pathy previously worked at Circle, the issuer of $USDC, where he oversaw operations in the Asia-Pacific region. He co-founded KAST with Daniel Bertoli, a former partner at fintech investment firm Quona Capital.
The platform’s services include digital dollar accounts, yield-bearing stablecoin vaults through its KAST Earn feature, instant global transfers through KAST Pay, and Visa debit cards that automatically convert stablecoins into local currency at checkout.
For many freelancers, remote workers, and global businesses, the appeal is simple: hold digital dollars anywhere and spend them almost anywhere. KAST’s card program taps into the Visa network, giving users access to more than 150 million merchants worldwide.
The new funding will help expand operations across North America, Latin America, and the Middle East while supporting new products such as KAST Business, a service designed to help companies manage global payroll and payments.
KAST is also investing heavily in licensing and compliance as it grows, an important step for fintech firms operating at the intersection of crypto and traditional finance.
Nigel Morris, co-founder and managing partner at QED Investors, said stablecoins are rapidly becoming an always-on dollar layer for global payments. Morris said:
“ Stablecoin technology holds the potential to reshape the future of finance.”
Sandeep Patil, a partner at QED Investors, added that fintech ultimately revolves around trust, even if the interface looks like a sleek app.
“Fintech is a trust business disguised as software, and stablecoins are rapidly becoming the always-on dollar layer for moving and holding value across borders and assets,” Patil remarked in the release.
With stablecoins increasingly used for payments rather than just crypto trading, platforms like KAST are positioning themselves as the next generation of global neobanks — except the rails beneath the hood run on blockchain networks rather than legacy banking systems.
For now, the startup’s mission is clear: build a financial platform where earning globally, holding digital dollars, and spending locally all happen in one place — ideally without the headaches that typically accompany international banking. Whether that vision ultimately plays out as planned, however, is anyone’s guess at this point in time.
