KAST has closed an $80 million Series A round at a $600 million valuation, doubling down on its bet that stablecoins can power faster, cheaper cross-border payments. The raise was led by QED Investors and Left Lane Capital, with participation from Peak XV Partners, HSG and DST Global Partners, Bloomberg reported. KAST said it will use the capital to accelerate product development, invest in licensing and compliance, and grow its team as it scales internationally. What KAST does KAST runs a stablecoin-powered payments platform that links “digital dollars” to local payout systems in supported markets. The service targets both individuals and businesses, enabling users to earn income globally, hold funds digitally, and spend locally through a single system. The company says the goal is to cut the time, cost and steps involved in cross-border transfers. Metrics and roadmap According to KAST’s press release, the startup has signed up more than 1 million users and is processing roughly $5 billion in annualized transaction volume since launching 18 months ago. The company also reported revenue has doubled since the end of September 2025. KAST plans geographic expansion across North America, Latin America and the Middle East, and will roll out “KAST Business” aimed at payouts, payroll and cross-border corporate spending. Market context Stablecoin activity has exploded: more than $35 trillion of stablecoin transactions were recorded last year. Yet, research from McKinsey and Artemis Analytics suggests only about 1% of that volume represented real-world payments like remittances or payroll — a gap that payments startups hope to fill. Investor confidence “The latest funding reflects the confidence of leading investors in the stablecoin thesis and in KAST’s ability to execute it at global scale,” said Raagulan Pathy, KAST founder and CEO. Nigel Morris, co-founder and managing partner at QED Investors, added: “Stablecoin technology holds the potential to reshape the future of finance. We are thrilled to lead this round at KAST.” Why it matters The round signals continued investor appetite for infrastructure that applies crypto rails to everyday financial flows. If KAST can scale its local payout integrations and regulatory coverage, it could carve a significant position in remittances, payroll and other real-world stablecoin use cases that remain a small slice of overall on-chain activity. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
