Turning Cash-First Economies into Stablecoin Gateways
Zar, a fintech startup founded by Brandon Timinsky (formerly of SadaPay), has secured $7 million in seed funding to reimagine how stablecoins are accessed in emerging markets. The round features top-tier crypto and venture investors including a16z, Dragonfly Capital, Coinbase Ventures, VanEck Ventures, and Solana co-founders—a clear vote of confidence in Zar’s vision of turning retail stores into global stablecoin exchanges.
The Big Idea: Stablecoins Meet the Real World
Zar’s platform enables users in cash-heavy economies to convert physical cash into USDC or USDT at local shops. Users scan a QR code, hand over fiat, and receive stablecoins directly into their digital wallets.
Here’s how it works:
- Local stores act as crypto kiosks, applying a spread to earn revenue.
- Zar collects a region-based fee to monetize transactions.
- No banking infrastructure is needed—just a smartphone and a store.
The model is built on top of the existing 28 million-strong mobile money agent network, which already powers $1.5 trillion in financial flows globally.
The Traction: Early Validation
Despite being pre-launch, Zar has already:
- Built a waitlist of nearly 100,000 users
- Onboarded 7,000 vendors across 20 countries, including Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Argentina
These are markets where inflation, currency instability, and poor banking penetration have created strong tailwinds for digital dollars and borderless finance.
Why Investors Are Watching
Stablecoins have evolved beyond speculation. They’re now seen as the gateway to financial inclusion, especially in regions underserved by banks. With projections from Citigroup forecasting the market could surge to $2 trillion+ by 2030, Zar is well-positioned to ride that wave.
Their infrastructure-lite, hyperlocal approach could deliver crypto access at a lower CAC than most on-ramps while tapping into global remittance, savings, and commerce flows.
This is a bet not just on the future of stablecoins—but on the next billion users.
