In this edition of Founder Spotlight, Eqvista features an in‑depth conversation with Raagulan Pathy, Founder of KAST and former Circle APAC leader, on the future of stablecoin-powered finance. In this interview, Raagulan unpacks how KAST is building a “global money app” that lets founders, creators, and globally distributed teams store, earn, move, and spend stablecoins as seamlessly as traditional dollars, without being constrained by legacy banking rails or national borders.
He shares why he saw a $100 billion opportunity in stablecoin infrastructure, how KAST’s consumer and business products are engineered for fast, cross-border payouts and payroll, and what it takes to build trust through compliance and security in a space that sits between fintech and crypto.
For founders and investors navigating global capital flows, this conversation offers a clear window into the stablecoin neobank thesis and the next generation of cross-border financial services.
Raagulan, thanks for joining. As a former Circle APAC leader now steering KAST, how do you see stablecoins disrupting traditional cross-border payments for startups and investors?
Simply put, with stablecoins, payments for startups and investors no longer need to be bogged down by traditional finance’s lag time.
I would further say that our new business product, KAST Business, builds on our consumer offering to allow businesses to use both on-chain and fiat payments as well as virtual and physical cards. It’s designed for founders and global teams that need a single platform for payouts, payroll, and cross-border spending.
You saw USDC grow from the inside. What did that experience teach you about what stablecoins actually needed next?
I had an incredible experience at Circle. I saw, though, a $100 billion opportunity for a platform in the stablecoins space. Stablecoin usage was accelerating, and the demand for fast, dollar-denominated money movement was clashing with traditional banking infrastructure. There was a need for a global platform built on stablecoin rails. So I chose the very difficult journey of building a new company from the ground up.
What problem was KAST created to solve that existing banks and fintech apps were missing?
I saw that most financial systems were built for a world where people lived, worked, and banked in one place. Existing banking and fintech apps weren’t meeting the needs of modern, globally mobile people and businesses.
KAST is designed for the global citizen. It’s designed for the founders, creators and forward thinkers the traditional banking system has left behind. With KAST, you are not locked in based upon the country where you’re from.
Instead, we provide a place for you to put your money that also suits your lifestyle. You can store, earn, move, and spend stablecoins anywhere in the world, and the stablecoins are 100% interchangeable with U.S. dollars.
Why focus on stablecoins as the primary rails instead of traditional banking infrastructure?
We have built our platform on stablecoin rails, which turns the ease of crypto infrastructure into everyday financial services for those frustrated by traditional banking. In one secure app, our users can store, earn, move and spend stablecoins. Our platform combines the stability and trust, as well as the user experience, of a premium banking provider with the speed and accessibility of stablecoin technology.
How did you decide KAST should be a “global money app” rather than a narrower crypto product?
I saw the opportunity for a platform that would allow people to send money all over the world while giving people a stable place for all of their financial services needs. But this platform would use crypto infrastructure to reduce the delays people experience with traditional finance.
How do you measure product-market fit in a category that sits between fintech and crypto? What is the most important growth signal to watch in the early days?
In March, we announced an $80 million Series A funding round co-led by QED Investors and Left Lane Capital. It also included returning investors Peak XV Partners, HSG, and DST Global Partners. We are using the capital to expand across Latin America, North America and the Middle East, and to accelerate licensing, compliance, product development, and headcount growth. Announced less than 18 months from launch, this funding round reflects the confidence of leading investors in the stablecoin neobank thesis and our ability to execute it at global scale.
In less than two years, we’ve scaled to more than one million users and are processing about $5 billion in annualized transaction volume. We expect revenue to reach $100 million annual run rate in 2026, with both users and revenue growth approximately 15-20% month-on-month. And we are expanding into business finance, savings, and lending.
What makes KAST meaningfully different from a neobank or a crypto wallet? Where do you see the most direct competition: banks, fintech apps, or crypto-native platforms?
We are built on a stablecoin layer. Of course, there’s competition from other financial players. Our differentiator is that we provide a place to store, earn, and move stablecoins, and we’re in more than 170 countries. And we’re working on getting licenses in additional places. Some of our competitors are focused on a singular market or region.
We are a single wallet for our users’ financial services needs, and their money settles much faster than if they were using a traditional financial institution. Settlement doesn’t stop for bank holidays.
I also understood from the beginning the importance of having enterprise-grade infrastructure. We are investing significantly in compliance. We partner with companies, like Elliptic, to ensure that our AML and compliance technology are best in class. Our compliance team is laser focused on making sure KAST is the world’s most safe and secure stablecoin financial platform.
Most DeFi users are extremely security-conscious and skeptical of anything that requires linking external accounts. How do you build trust with that demographic specifically?
First, if users want to use KAST without linking an external account, they don’t have to. We are built on stablecoin rails to reduce the friction of legacy settlement, and I know the DeFi community appreciates that. Ultimately, financial services is a trust game. Our significant investments in security infrastructure builds trust with all users.
What advice do you have for founders trying to build a product that sits between crypto and traditional finance?
Founding a company in any market is incredibly hard work. It’s a seven days a week, 24 hours a day job that is not for the faint of heart.
