KAST Secures $10m Seed Spherical Led by HSG (HongShan Capital Group) and Peak XV Companions

KAST, a monetary expertise platform constructed on stablecoins
to ship a neobank-style expertise, has raised US$10 million in seed
funding. The spherical is led by HSG (HongShan Capital Group) and Peak XV Companions.
Numerous high-profile angels, companions of DST World, and Goodwater Capital
additionally joined the spherical.

“For many international locations and over half of world GDP, banking
doesn’t match the openness and velocity of the Web, it’s essentially
damaged. Stablecoins are the clear resolution, however the consumer expertise wasn’t
nice. We’re constructing KAST to vary this”, provides Raagulan Pathy, KAST’s
Co-Founder. Pathy is a stablecoin knowledgeable, previously the VP for Asia Pacific
& CEO for Singapore at Circle, finest identified for USDC.

KAST presents fee playing cards and USD-denominated accounts to
individuals in over 150 international locations, the flexibility to obtain and ship money, and dealing
with companions reminiscent of Bridge (lately acquired by Stripe). KAST will quickly
launch financial savings and different remittance merchandise — all with out the necessity to contact
fiat immediately. The maturing of stablecoin regulation and acceptance has led to
fast integration with conventional finance networks, enabling customers to ship
cash quicker, cheaper, and extra securely. KAST highlighted use circumstances reminiscent of
holding USD stablecoins as a substitute for unstable currencies, enabling
individuals to purchase imports and journey with a card, and permitting distant employees
globally to receives a commission.

“The following era of neobanks will likely be constructed on
stablecoins and inherently international by DNA. They’ll differ essentially from
the present era of neobanks, that are restricted in international locations resulting from
licensing, and battle in integrating blockchain; their core methods and
capabilities are simply too totally different,” feedback Daniel Bertoli, co-founder of
KAST and former Companion at Quona Capital, a world FinTech fund that focuses on
investments in neobanks.

KAST has accomplished a $10 million seed funding spherical at an
undisclosed valuation. Inside its first 4 months, the corporate has
demonstrated robust early traction by way of consumer adoption and income. The
group views this as a mirrored image of serious international curiosity in its platform.

Stablecoins have skilled exceptional development with over
US$170 billion in provide, and US$Eight.5 trillion transaction quantity in Q2 2024 by
over 125 million customers. Analysts predict by 2030; consumer numbers will exceed 1
billion and provide will surpass US$1 trillion.

“KAST delivers actual advantages to international customers. Their
USD-denominated accounts present a protected haven for hard-earned revenue when native
currencies decline, particularly for these with out entry to conventional US
accounts. As extra digital nomads obtain salaries in stablecoins, they will now
bypass the trouble of legacy rails. Worldwide transfers that after took weeks
can now be accomplished immediately and at just about no price,” mentioned Alex Svanevik
(CEO/co-founder of Nansen.ai, an early investor in KAST).

Customers can go to the KAST web site to be taught extra about KAST
and uncover how their progressive choices can remodel monetary expertise.

Testimonials from card customers

“I spent two weeks on the financial institution making an attempt to open a easy
financial savings account. They requested for greater than 10 paperwork (~100 papers) and needed to
signal and stamp every of them. And I opened a crypto card @KAST_official in
actually 2min. Why would anybody go after conventional playing cards anymore? If i do not
want my financial institution statements for embassies, I might at all times use crypto playing cards like
@KAST_official” – Mardeni.

“One faucet to resolve all my points. That is all it took after I
received my KAST card. This is a fast recap, I have been touring so much recently, and
exchanging cash has at all times been a problem. You normally find yourself dropping 5-Eight% in
the method by the point the money is in your hand. A good friend of mine despatched me a
hyperlink and mentioned, “Give this a strive!” Quick ahead two months, and I’ve
been tapping away quite a bit. Because of @KAST_official … I’ve used it throughout
5 international locations during the last couple of months with none points. It is made
worldwide spending and crypto utilization extremely easy” – Alpha Bets.

I simply used my @KAST_official card to pay for my venture’s
area identify and it labored seamlessly all I needed to do was fund it with Solana
USDC, that is truly a recreation changer for me and some other factor I will need to
do with it” – Alex.

About KAST

KAST (https://www.kast.xyz/) is reworking the
financial-technology panorama, by providing a seamless mix of stablecoin
expertise with conventional fee means. The KAST platform allows USD
accounts globally to 150+ international locations, reaching over 5 billion individuals – providing
an answer the place banking falls quick. The silky-smooth consumer expertise is
taking mainstream the openness, velocity and safety of stablecoins; KAST allows
customers to ship, obtain, save, and spend funds throughout borders effectively.

This text was written by FL Contributors at www.ubaidahsan.com.



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