A $309 Billion Bet Fuels 24/7 Dollar Banking Without Borders

Three years ago Mustafa Ismael launched Karcsham Co., a Kenya-based company that resells Starlink devices and manages subscriptions for thousands of customers across a dozen African and Latin American countries. At first he used his local bank card to pay the monthly bills. But the 5% foreign exchange fees soon began eating into his profits.

Then came Rizon, a Delaware-based neobank, that lets users pay through stablecoins, cryptocurrencies typically pegged to the US dollar. Now, with a few taps on his phone, Ismael settles his bills and transfers funds using Tether Holdings SA’s USDT and Circle Internet Group Inc. ...