Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re diving into:
P.S. We’re taking day off for the vacations! TechCrunch Fintech scribe Mary Ann Azevedo can be again in your inbox on January 7. ❄️
The huge story
How stablecoin know-how can energy billions in cross-border transactions
Juicyway is an African fintech that’s leveraging stablecoin know-how to energy quick and low cost cross-border funds. The firm launched out of stealth after processing over $1 billion in transaction quantity for 1000’s of African companies over the past three years.
The firm claims to have processed over 25,000 transactions, producing $1.3 billion in complete cost quantity from 4,000 customers. According to its founders, Juicyway racked up these numbers with no publicly out there app or advertising and marketing efforts — and as an alternative relied closely on word-of-mouth referrals.
One buyer kind for a cross-border funds platform could be a remittance enterprise, however Juicyway is consultant of a brand new wave of platforms powered by stablecoin know-how that challenges the standard strategies throughout developed and rising markets.
Dollars and cents
Mynt has raised €22 million in a spherical led by Vor Capital. Mynt has now raised round €50 million in complete, and from what we perceive, this funding values the corporate at roughly €200 million.
Upvest introduced a €100 million Series C spherical led by Hedosophia. While the corporate isn’t disclosing its valuation following the spherical, Upvest stated it’s “considerably increased” than its earlier one.
Peak XV and HongShan have co-led a $10 million seed funding in KAST, a dollar-denominated neobank-like platform that lets clients maintain and spend stablecoins by conventional cost avenues.
CarDekho SEA raised $60 million in fairness, valuing the corporate at over $300 million. It’s the corporate’s first spherical of exterior funding, following a earlier $40 million funding from father or mother firm CarDekho Group.
Finny raised $4.2 million in a seed spherical co-led by Maple VC and HNVR to develop its engineering crew and improve its product that makes use of AI to match monetary advisers with potential shoppers.
