Stablecoin payments company KAST has raised $80 million in a Series A round valuing the company at $600 million, according to an announcement yesterday.
The round was co-led by QED Investors and Left Lane Capital, with returning investors Peak XV Partners, HongShan Capital Group (HSG), and DST Global Partners also participating. QED Partner Sandeep Patil will join the board.
Founded in July 2024, KAST offers USD-denominated accounts and payment cards built on stablecoin rails rather than traditional correspondent banking infrastructure. The company says it serves users in more than 190 countries.
Rapid growth
According to the company, KAST has reached over 1 million users and is processing nearly $5 billion in annualized transaction volume. It says revenue has doubled since September 2025 and is targeting a $100 million annual run rate this year.
If accurate, the $600 million valuation implies a 6x forward revenue multiple, in line with recent fintech deals but aggressive for a company still scaling.
KAST was founded by Raagulan Pathy, who previously served as Circle's vice president for Asia Pacific and CEO of its Singapore operations, according to his public profiles. Prior to Circle, Pathy held regional enterprise roles at Zoom and Facebook.
Competitive landscape
KAST enters a crowded and fast-moving market. Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge for $1.1 billion in February 2025 in a deal that signaled major payments players are taking stablecoin rails seriously. Bridge's volume reportedly quadrupled following the acquisition, and Visa recently announced plans to expand stablecoin-linked cards through Bridge to over 100 countries.
PayPal operates its own stablecoin (PYUSD), while established fintechs like Revolut and crypto-native firms continue adding stablecoin features. KAST's challenge will be differentiating against well-capitalized incumbents now moving aggressively into the same space.
KAST plans to expand across Latin America, North America, and the Middle East – regions with varying regulatory frameworks for stablecoin-based financial services. The company says it will use proceeds for "licensing, compliance, product development and headcount growth," and has hired over 250 employees, according to its announcement.
The U.S. stablecoin regulatory environment remains in flux, with the CLARITY Act facing an impasse in Congress over yield-bearing stablecoin rules. How KAST navigates licensing across multiple jurisdictions will be a key execution test.
Investor framing
QED co-founder Nigel Morris called stablecoins a technology that "holds the potential to reshape the future of finance." Left Lane's Matthew Miller said 2026 "could represent a meaningful inflection point" for consumer-facing stablecoin platforms.
Such bullishness tracks with broader market sentiment: global stablecoin transaction volume grew 72% last year to over $33 trillion, according to Artemis Analytics, and transfer volumes hit a record $1.8 trillion in February, per Allium data.
Whether KAST can carve out a defensible position against larger, better-funded competitors remains to be seen.
