The Stablecoin Founder Map Doesn't Match the Stablecoin Volume Map
Stablecoin growth is being driven less by U.S. and European institutional use and more by emerging-market demand. In 2025, stablecoin volume topped $28 trillion, with major activity in Nigeria, Argentina, Brazil, the Philippines, and across sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. In these markets, stablecoins are not a niche crypto product but a practical way to hold dollar value, send remittances, and move cross-border business payments amid inflation, currency controls, and high bank transfer costs. VC capital is still heavily concentrated in the U.S., even though local founders in Lagos, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Manila are better positioned to build on/off-ramps, remittance rails, and B2B payment infrastructure. Consumer retail stablecoin apps often struggle with compliance and banking constraints, while B2B flows are scaling rapidly. The main message: the biggest stablecoin opportunities lie in corridors where demand already exists, but venture attention is still lagging.
